Two Sides of the Same Coin
by Tesla.Cannon
Summary: He really didn't know what to think about her after that... Except, she definitely wasn't what he was expecting. (MacCready/F. Sole Survivor)
1. Stranger Lady

I am MacCready trash.

Fallout 4 has destroyed me.

There was a lack of MacCready fics, so I decided to have at my own. Enjoy this little brain child. Let's see where it goes.

* * *

MacCready wasn't really sure when his life had gotten to this point. If you had asked him a few months ago, he wouldn't really be sure where he would end up. Running with the Gunners had taken it's toll on him mentally. Three months away from them had done wonders to clear his head, but he could admit to himself that carving out a name for himself in the Commonwealth wasn't going exactly as he had planned…

Although, he never really had a plan to begin with. That is at least, a well thought out one. Sure, he knew what the end goal was - he needed to get more money or find some way to get a cure to Duncan in time. That was all that mattered to him. It didn't matter how he did it, just so long as it was quick. Turns out getting caps around here was harder than he had thought.

The gunners worked for a little while, until he realized that he wasn't getting the caps he thought he should. Even though he enjoyed the violence caused through his tour with them, it became so monotonous and draining that even he had to wonder what their end goal was. He wasn't fitting in with this group of degenerates and it was beginning to wear him down. That, and MacCready realized they were skimping him on the spoils after taking over any new areas. That was what did it for him. Sure, he knew they weren't exactly the most generous bunch, but when he joined he expected to be getting more than he was.

So, he walked. Tried to find work where he could.

He knew how to shoot well enough that word got around. He started to get a reputation, which was exactly the sort of thing that he wanted. If you had a good reputation, and an even better shot, you stood to make enough caps out here to survive off of. So whatever he didn't need, he'd send back to the Capital Wasteland with Daisy to take care of Duncan. Which unfortunately didn't leave him with very much to live off of, so most nights he spent in the Third Rail drinking and waiting for his big opportunity to come walking through the door.

Apparently the gunners didn't take too kindly to that, surprisingly. You'd think with how heartless and relentless they were in their pursuit of military weapons and caps they'd have little to do with MacCready. That was the hope at least. Turns out when you make too big of a name for yourself some of your ghosts come back to haunt you.

Which is where he found himself now, eyeing two ghosts of his past through a glass of whiskey.

"Can't say I'm surprised to find you in a dump like this, MacCready." Winlock greeted, except it was the kind of greeting that came with the promise of something violent.

He smirked. Couldn't help it. It figures they would track him all the way down here.

"Was wondering how long it'd take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlock." MacCready didn't bother getting up from his seat. Didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing how off guard they had caught him. It didn't seem like it was about to get ugly just yet. He knew they wouldn't do anything in Hancock's town either - that man had an even uglier reputation than he did. So instead he decided to stay seated and kill them with snark while he could. It was more fun that way anyway. "It's been almost three months since I left. Don't tell me you're getting rusty."

MacCready's particular brand of sarcasm didn't seem to win them over any. Instead, Winlock looked at his partner, Barnes, and MacCready could feel the air in the room change. Seemed they definitely weren't in the mood for him today. He took another swig of his drink and set it down, eyeing the two as they waited on him.

"We need to take this outside?" He decided to ask. MacCready was already getting tired of this. If it was going to go south, best it happened sooner rather than later. He still had a few hours left of his night, and was itching for a fight anyway.

That was until the strangest lady walked through the back door of The Third Rail.

"MacCready?" She asked, all eyes in the room glancing over her way. Seemed she even surprised Winlock and Barnes with the way they were eyeing her. It couldn't be helped though. She just looked so... out of place. That was the only thing that came to mind with her. She just didn't look like she belonged here…

"Yeah?" He stood and decided to answer back before it got too awkward. After all there were three different guys staring at how pale and clean she looked. Definitely hadn't been touched by the Commonwealth the way the rest of the people he saw around here were. He watched her walk more into the room, a cold and calculating stare on her features. He was momentarily distracted by her strange black overcoat, that is until he noticed a Pipboy on her wrist. The last time he saw one of those was back too many years. Back when he was the mayor of Little Lamplight and the Lone Wanderer decided to pay her respects.

She noticed him staring at it and hid it behind her back a little, slowly making her way towards him while eyeing the other two men curiously. "There a problem here, fellas?" She challenged, moving to lean on a hip with the hand not marred by the machine.

Winlock and Barnes exchanged more looks. Man, MacCready couldn't remember the last time the two of them were this quiet. Perhaps it had something to do with the way the lady was staring at the two of them. Even though she appeared so out of place, there was a look in her eyes that rooted you to the spot. MacCready could see it even though it wasn't directed at him. This lady had definitely seen some horrible things, and she had a look that promised even more horrors at whoever was on the receiving end.

Winlock finally spoke up, coming out of his stunned silence and continuing to gaze up and down at the new stranger. It seemed he also didn't really like what he saw there. That means he wasn't totally hopeless. "Not at all. We're just delivering a message." He turned back towards MacCready, letting Barnes take the brunt of her death stare while he addressed him.

"In case you forgot, I left the gunners for good." MacCready spoke up. This was going on long enough, and besides, it wasn't like they were getting anywhere. Maybe he could scare off the newcomer while he was at it. That or sell himself a little bit.

"We heard. Still, we know you've been making a name for yourself out here. Taking our jobs. That isn't going to work for us." The two gunners stepped closer into his line of sight, coming dangerously close to getting in his face. That wasn't something MacCready liked.

"I don't take orders from you. Not anymore. So take your _girlfriend_ and get out of here while you still can." He vaguely heard a snicker from the far side of the room, but instead of addressing it he decided to keep staring daggers at Winlock, hoping his barb worked enough to get them out of his hair without anything getting messy.

"What?! Winlock, tell me we don't have to listen to this shi-" Barnes was cut off mid sentence when a distinctly feminine voice drifted through the room.

"Gentleman." She finally decided to address everyone again. Somehow she had managed to maneuver herself between all of them without making a sound, something MacCready was impressed by. Then, she gently placed a very clean and polished hand on top of Winlock's chest, looking up at him with her wide, doe eyes. "He's in my employ now. We don't need to be so... hasty." She purred, letting her hand fall slowly down his chest.

Winlock looked a little confused by the gesture. It seemed womanly flirtations were lost on him.

No surprise there. MacCready was pretty sure there wasn't much going on up top of that ugly mug of his. Still, he had to hold back a laugh watching his face change at her ministrations.

With all that silence, you'd think he would have been able to come up with something a little bit more intelligent, however a "... _What_?" was all that was heard. Barnes decided to make himself noticeable, coming up and putting a hand on Winlock's shoulder, almost like he was going to grab for the woman. Just as he was about to speak, she gave him a radiant smile - that was except for those doe eyes of hers that fixed him with a stone cold stormy gaze.

She leaned in closer. MacCready thought she was about to bite him, but instead she batted her eyelashes and whispered "That means, silly, you won't have to worry about it anymore. I've got it."

Man, if MacCready could have even the ounce of charisma this broad was oozing, he'd be richer than Allistair Tenpenny.

The two gunners blinked around, almost like they were in a daze. Not having the desired reaction she was going for, lady decided to keep going - albeit with a different approach. MacCready watched the arm cased in Pipboy as it sunk to her hip. She pulled out an impressive looking silenced 10 millimeter, fixed it on them for a moment, and then pushed it into Barnes' exposed shoulder. "I won't say it nicely again, gentleman. Now beat feet before I get Hancock down here."

They gaped at her, Barnes' giant meaty hand going for her gun, until Winlock put both his hands up to signal to his partner and the lady that they were finished.

"Listen, we don't want any trouble with Goodneighbor." Winlock spoke, then eyed MacCready as he started backing out the door. "If we hear you're operating in Gunner territory, all bets are off. You got that?"

"You finished?" MacCready demanded. Winlock smirked and put his hands down, still eyeing the lady with the trained 10 mil on him.

"Yeah... we're finished."

Both of them left slowly. Barnes took one last glance at the stranger with the devilish eyes before shaking his head and following his partner. If MacCready was lucky, that would be the last he'd see of them for a while.

He shook himself out and waited for the lady to speak again. She didn't seem like the kind of gal who'd beat around the bush, which he liked. She holstered her weapon and wiped off the hand that was on Winlock's chest on the bottom of her coat with a sneer. When she turned toward him, he watched her whole demeanor change in the few seconds it took for her to step close to him. Gone were the stone cold demon eyes, instead he was met with stormy determined ones.

"So, I take it those aren't friends of yours?" She asked, sinking into the hip she favored earlier and inclining her head at him. He watched the underside of her neck catch the light in the room and noted again just how untouched she really seemed. She definitely wasn't from around here…

"Not anymore at least." MacCready answered, folding his arms over his chest and waiting to see how this would pan out. Perhaps this lady was the opportunity he was waiting for. She certainly knew how to handle herself. And, if she was able to keep herself that clean then that must've meant she didn't lack for caps. He decided that now was as good a time as any to sell himself out - he needed the caps desperately. It had been a long time since his last job. He needed to send something back home to keep Duncan's hopes up.

"Look," He started, "If you're preaching about Atom or looking for a friend, you've got the wrong guy. But, if you need a hired gun then maybe we can talk."

Stranger lady seemed to like what she heard, because he watched a smile form on her lips. "I'm interested... if you think you have what it takes." Her smile turned into a smirk as she waited for his reaction. MacCready got the strange feeling that this lady was reading him like a book - every one of her statements seemed to be well thought out and carefully calculated. She didn't' speak right away, instead opting for the silence to drag a little bit. Not enough for it to be too uncomfortable, but just enough to make you a little bit more unsettled. She definitely knew her way around people.

"You're joking right? I've been doing this since I was a kid. I know my way around." She didn't seem to mind his tone, still waiting with a smirk on her features.

"I used to run with the gunners for god's sake..." MacCready wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to add it. He was unsettled enough to be a little intimidated by her antics, after all he was trying to sell himself out here. If he couldn't stand up to this doe eyed lady, how else was he going to make money?

"You mean those two idiots? Never heard of anything about the gunners. What's their M.O.?"

Someone who hadn't heard of the gunners? MacCready took a second to digest that, adding it to his already giant file of ' _this lady is different_ ' and decided to answer her as truthfully as he could. "They're one of the biggest gangs in the Commonwealth. Got a rep for being crazy... you know, so tightly wound you'd think they were a cult or something. I stuck with them for a while because the money was good, but I never really fit in. That's why I started flying solo." She nodded her head as she listened to his dialogue, still keeping silent.

"Now, what about you? How do I know I won't end up with a bullet in my back?" MacCready asked. He decided before anything got too serious he'd have to at least broach that subject. With the way she seemed to handle herself around those two idiots, he wasn't really sure what to make of her.

"You don't. That's part of the risk right?" She leveled her gaze at him, letting herself straighten out and waiting on his reply.

MacCready was surprised with how honest an answer that was. He didn't expect that from her. Then again, he still really wasn't sure what to expect from her anyway, so perhaps it was better to just go with it. "Can't argue with that." He said. "I'll tell you what, price is 250 caps… up front. And there's no room for bargaining." He added, making sure to stand firm on this. If he could get the caps from this lady, he'd be able to send more than half of that back home to Duncan on Daisy's next caravan. He needed this.

"Everything's negotiable." She replied, stepping towards him. "Will you take 200?"

Even though 250 would have been more than enough to send home, MacCready was swayed by this mysterious stranger. She came walking into his life at a time where he was pretty down on his luck. It's not what he had originally planned, but hey, when had that ever worked out for him before?

"You drive a hard bargain, but you just bought yourself a hired gun." After he said that, he watched her whole face morph into a genuine smile. She stuck out her hand, a gesture that was oddly reminiscent of the Lone Wanderer from all those years back. It was something that had been lost to time in the Commonwealth. He couldn't help the small smile that lit up his own features. It seemed he had a knack for ladies from a vault wandering into his life. He didn't really seem to mind it though, stranger turn of events had happened to him. This one seemed like it could go somewhere promising, so MacCready remained hopeful as he enveloped her small, clean hand in his dirty one.

"Alright MacCready. Nice to meet you. I'm Nora." She shook his hand confidently, afterwards letting hers fall to the pocket of her jacket to retrieve the agreed upon amount of caps. After hearing the familiar clinking of the money, and testing for it's weight, MacCready let an actual smile fall on his face.

"Same, Boss. Now let's get out of here."

She nodded her head in agreement and lead the way. MacCready watched as she started to walk towards the door. He didn't have much in the way of possessions, so he was already locked and ready to go. Wherever this Nora was going seemed like a more interesting route than the one he was on anyway. With one final glance around his room, he started for the door. Nora had rushed ahead of him before really giving him a chance to catch up, something he would have to discuss with her later.

In fact, there was a lot he would need to discuss with her. Like what was to be expected, what she needed of him, what she was doing...

There were a lot of questions now filtering through MacCready's mind as he searched the bar for the strange girl.

He found her hunched in a corner, unseen by those around her, as she rifled through the contents of someone's ammo case. Quickly glancing around, Nora stuck her hand in and started pocketing the contents before looking over her shoulder at him, gracing him with another gigantic smile.

He coughed out a laugh, sinking down to his knees and trying his best to maintain the element of stealth. When he got close enough, she gave him a look - almost like she was asking for permission. It seemed Nora was a bit of a klepto, something he could agree with. When she didn't see any sign of hatred on his features, she motioned for him to open up his pockets and then she stuffed a wad of paper cash in his pocket.

He really didn't know what to think about her after that…

Except, she definitely wasn't what he was expecting.


	2. Sarcasm and Superheroes

After the little hiccup in The Third Rail, and subsequent pillage of random goods where Nora could get to without drawing any attention to them, she had lead him down through the streets and into a back alley. MacCready wasn't too fond of tight corners, but Nora wasn't exactly very forthcoming with information just yet. He still couldn't get that image of her out of his head, hunched over and rifling through some random's belongings. Here he thought that vault dwellers had a reputation for being goody-goody, but this one seemed to have a knack for being a bit of a sneak thief. He wasn't judging of course. After all, MacCready was of the mindset that you did what you had to in order to survive out here. He wasn't one to turn his nose up to stealth, since he favored it himself what with being on his own nine times out of ten. The idea of pocketing things other's probably wouldn't miss or notice appealed to him as well. MacCready knew what it was like to struggle and take what you could, so beings Nora did the same gave her some decent marks in his books.

He was so busy musing over her odd, and yet seemingly similar attitude, that he almost ran into her when she stopped abruptly behind a dumpster.

"What...?" MacCready questioned, looking around at where they were hiding. What was up with this?

Nora glanced over at him and sunk down to her knees again. This time she put one of her hands inside her coat and started pulling out a random assortment of small objects, placing all of them down on the ground in front of her for him to see. MacCready was almost surprised when she kept going for a while, not making a sound. Was that a magic pocket or something? She just kept pulling things out… How on earth was she holding all of this crap…

"Uh... you need some help there?"

One last rifle through the pocket and Nora placed down a handful of .45 caliber bullets. She finally looked up at him after glancing at her spoils. "What kind of ammo do you use for that thing?" She asked him finally, after a beat of silence. MacCready was a little put off about her ignoring him but he couldn't help but be impressed by all the stuff she was carrying.

"Thing? This is my favorite sniper rifle..."

Nora let out a small laugh at that. Seemed like she had a bit of a sense of humor. That was good.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not one for sniper rifles. Don't have the patience for it, I guess." Nora answered truthfully.

MacCready took that into consideration. Not many people enjoyed waiting and watching for the perfect shot. It took a lot of practice. He trained himself after all, back when he was a young mayor. It wasn't like he had anyone holding his hand either. It just became a necessity when none of the other kids wanted to take up the defense mantle. Afterwards though, when he got a few years of practice in… Well, that was a different story. Now, he loved it. Lining up your enemy in scope and letting the bullet fly, watching as their head explodes into paste… There was just nothing like that for him. Ridiculously satisfying once you got the hang of it. MacCready took to it pretty well when he was younger, and now with all the years he's been practicing, there was rarely a shot he missed.

Nora saying she didn't have the patience for it didn't really bother him, after all it's not like many people out here were able to snipe. Most preferred ridiculously charging your enemies and beating them to a pulp with whatever object was available to them.

He preferred to stay in the shadows. Watching. Waiting. Being cautious. That's how you survived.

"What, so you just use that pea shooter there all the time?" He joked, pointing to the small little gun at her waist. Nora looked down at it a little self consciously, but still managed to breathe out a little bit of a chuckle. She would have to get used to his jests and sarcasm, that's just how he was.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Guess you'll have to find out, huh?"

So she could dish it out too, then.

MacCready smirked back at her, watching her separate the ammo that was on the ground. She didn't seem to mind his jesting, so that was a good thing.

After a few beats of silence, MacCready bent down and picked up a box of .308 ammunition. He glanced down at her, waiting to see if she would object to his bold move, but she only smiled up at him and started to stand.

Nora got the picture since he decided not to answer her. Having to guess at which gun took which ammo would've been embarrassing for her, since she was still a little new to this. Nate had only taught her so much back before the bombs dropped. She was glad he took it upon himself to let her know without speaking.

"So, those are all your then." She spoke, "Like I said, I don't use them. Here." Nora began handing him a few other boxes of the ammo he had picked. He had never met an employer before who would willingly share their ammo with him. Normally, he'd have to scavenge his own or buy it. Seemed like this lady was very different than what he was used to. Watching her stack more of the boxes in his hand set a smile on his face. This was a nice change.

"Anything else in that magic pocket of yours that you want me to hold? You just let me know..." MacCready teased. She laughed and sunk back to her knees again.

Nora started to go back through all the stuff and stick it back where it belonged. MacCready wasn't far off with his teasing, Nora was really surprised at how much this overcoat could hold.

"Oh, trust me. I'll let you know." She joked back. He'd learn in time just how much crap she would get her hands on. Nora was a bit of a hoarder after all. Many times she'd have to travel back to Sanctuary or one of her other hideouts just to lighten the load.

"So..." Nora started, waiting for a few seconds to figure out how to word what she was going to say. It didn't seem like MacCready was bothered by her behavior like some of her other companions were. Most didn't like when she took to stealing. Admittedly, this wasn't a behavior she had before coming out of the vault. It wasn't until shortly after leaving the vault that she picked up the habit. It just seemed like everything around her was going to shit. She needed to take everything she could in order to find Shaun... In order to help the settlers whenever she could.

Being the General of the Minutemen was draining on most days, but she did enjoy helping settlements out whenever possible.

Still, it would be best to broach the subject with him beforehand. This way she could decide if he would be a constant companion in her life or just a sometimes partner like Piper or Preston. It wasn't that Nora disliked them, on the contrary. She enjoyed their company and cared about them immensely, especially after traveling with them for so long. They held a special place in her heart, but they just didn't understand her mindset on most things.

Dogmeat offered no qualms with her ever. He simply adored her and that made her happy. It was an unbelievable stroke of luck that lead the dog to her. He was a decent companion in combat and offered her the love and affection she was starting to miss so much. Nora just couldn't take the possibility of him getting hurt, as he often did when they traveled together. Opting to leave him behind at his doghouse in Sanctuary, Nora switched partners often in order to try and find someone who would work well with her skillset. No one seemed to fit that bill yet.

After hearing about a hired gun from listening in on other's conversations, like she was apt to do, Nora figured she would try and give the mercenary a chance. After all, what sort of mercenary would object to a little bit of thievery?

It's not like she did it a lot... It's just... if they wanted to keep it, maybe they should hide it better.

No, scratch that. Nora couldn't even in good conscious say that. Considering all the locks she's picked in her short time in this new world, that wasn't even an option.

She just enjoyed the thrill of taking things that didn't belong to her.

After she stepped out of the vault, not much in her life really made sense anymore. Her son was stolen from her, her husband murdered... She became so numb to emotions out here that nothing really made her feel anything.

That was until she started taking things. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline. The thrill of possibly being caught. She wasn't really sure... All Nora knew was that it was the only thing that made her really feel anything right now. Most of her interactions were pretty sarcastic and hollow. All of her emotions were spent after the trauma she endured.

How was one to function like that in a world like this?

With everything gone to shit, and with the way her mentality was slowly waning, she didn't care about the things she was taking. They were placeholders for emotions long lost. Placeholders for things she should be feeling.

She was also getting just... really good at it. No one seemed to notice when she was sneaking. She was invisible. Able to watch and gauge reactions around her. That was something that always interested her anyway, since before the bombs fell. You don't get very far in a law degree without having some modicum of behavioral analysis.

This new type of invisibility was invigorating. No one could shoot what they couldn't see. She used her skills to her advantage more often than not. Preferring to take the first shot when she could in order to spare harm from coming to those at her side. She was a protector.

Nora also had this insane desire to take and give to others. It was almost like a compulsion. Oh, that desk fan over there? That could be used in order to make another turret system for one of her towns. She needed to protect them. She had already failed to keep her son safe once. If she could prevent that for others, Nora would do so no matter what. Taking what she could in order to help herself survive, and the others she had taken under her wing.

Sometimes taking more in order to sell it later... But, you did what you had to in order to survive. Nora was realizing that with a growing ferocity with each day she spent out here.

"You didn't seem to mind my bad habit, MacCready. Was I right in assuming that?" Nora decided to ask. She had waited a while to phrase it correctly, thinking before speaking like she normally did. This seemed to startle MacCready a little bit who glanced at her quickly. He must have been waiting for her to speak for a little while.

"You were. I'm a hired gun. I don't usually turn my nose up at much." He answered her. It was a pretty honest answer, all things considered. If that was what he thought, perhaps he would be a better suited companion for her needs.

"What do you turn your nose up at?" Nora decided to ask. She asked questions whenever she could. A habit born out of her curiosity and previous career. Questions usually lead to more information, and if she could ask the right ones, she could direct the conversation wherever she needed to. She could be in control.

MacCready barked out a laugh, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against a wall. He was still waiting for her to pick up her belongings, but she got lost in thought earlier for so long he thought she was having a fit or something.

"Guess you'll have to find out, huh?" MacCready replied. He went with her earlier comment in order to joke around, but also remain aloof, as was his nature. If he could kill two birds with one stone he would. He didn't particularly let things out in the open right off the bat. She'd have to do some digging in order to get anything from him.

Nora threw up her head at that, smirking up at the sky and taking a breath.

"Touché."

It seemed MacCready could keep up with her. That, and it would probably be a little bit more difficult to control the conversation with him. It seemed like he could misdirect when necessary, that or he enjoyed throwing her off.

After another few minutes, Nora was on her feet. Everything was nicely packed inside her overcoat. It wasn't like this was her normal get-up either, but after doing that mission for Kent it sort of made her feel a little bit more powerful. Almost like she was one of those old superheroes in those comics Nate used to read. It made her feel good to wear it. Like he'd be proud of her. That, or he'd probably make fun of her…

Either way, it offered decent protection and was black enough to not draw attention to her whenever she was sneaking. It also helped to deter the male gaze, which was something she was also extremely grateful for. It fit its purpose for right now.

"Ready to head out now?" MacCready asked. He started to get up from the wall and walk towards her. His sniper rifle was thrown over a shoulder as he glanced at her. Nora nodded her head, starting to lead the way out of the alley.

"You make a habit of going into alleys? That where you take stock of all your stolen goodies?"

MacCready was awfully bold for a gun for hire. Nora noted he liked to joke a lot. That was something that reminded her of her past... Of Nate…

A small smile found it's way onto her features. Even though she was in front of him, and he probably wouldn't be able to see, Nora still dropped her head down in order to hide it. Here she was trying to forget about her past. About what happened. She was succeeding very well up until this moment. Come to think of it, the past few hours with MacCready held the most amount of times she had since thought about her late husband.

Even though she had only known him for a short period of time, it seemed like she was able to joke back and forth with him. This was new for her, as most of the others she had encountered didn't really know what to do with her particular sense of sarcasm. There was that one time she even managed to let out that beautifully crafted pun about mirelurks on Preston to just have him stare back at her.

It was _gold_. Came to her right in the middle of a firefight. And he just stared at her like she had two heads.

Alright, so _maybe_ it wasn't that great, but damnit Nora laughed at it herself and that's all that mattered anyway.

Still, the joking is what she missed most of all. That's how Nate would try and tease her anyway. He always said her jokes were terrible, but laughed at them anyway. It was his little joke with her. His way of flirtation.

Nora shook her head. Ridding herself of the intrusive thoughts. Nate would have to wait. She didn't want to open that can of worms right now. Burying it deep inside of her once more, she pressed onwards. If denial was a sport, Nora would have been an all-star.

"I usually prefer to do it _inside_ a dumpster. But you're new, so I figured I would spare you... for now."

MacCready laughed at that, catching up to her easily with his longer legs. "Thanks for that. Don't much like the smell." He answered, peering over at her from beneath the brim of his hat.

Nora let the smile go freely now, unable to hold it back with their banter. It seemed like she would enjoy MacCready's company. Even if he reminded her a little bit of someone from her past. She'd work through it whenever she had to cross that bridge. Right now, she'd just take it one day at a time like she had been before.

It was still nice to have someone to joke with. Nora missed it.

MacCready watched the smile form on her face and kept pressing onward. He kept a little bit of distance from her in order to try and gauge where she was going. He was also a little curious about her too. Didn't hurt to watch her emotions on her face. After all, that was the best way to read someone. He had to admit to himself that he felt oddly at ease with her. It seemed she could go back and forth with him, which is something he really liked and rarely found. He couldn't remember the last time he had someone joke back with him. There wasn't much use for jokesters out here. Most people dealt with caps and harsh words. What happened to sarcasm to spice things up anyway? He wasn't about to let it die.

Deciding to continue on with her, just to see where it would get him, he chimed in with "So, you want to tell me what the getup is all about anyway? Doesn't look like much in the way of protection." It was weird, but he didn't really want to stop talking to her just yet. She was pretty interesting to speak with. He also found himself oddly curious about her attire, and wanting to know more about her without asking outright. It looked oddly reminiscent of something familiar... Something he had read before…

She shook her head at him and started to walk quicker down the street towards the exit of Goodneighbor. "If I told you, you'd definitely make fun of me." Nora confessed. There was no way she was going to tell him that it was a costume for the Silver Shroud. Knowing him as little as she did, Nora guessed there was no way he'd let her live it down. He just seemed like the type. Besides, he probably wouldn't even know who the Silver Shroud was anyway. The only reason she did was because Nate enjoyed comics and both of them liked listening to it together on the radio whenever the show was on. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but he was pretty popular back in the day.

"Me? Make fun of you? I'm shocked you would even think so..." He chuckled, but pressed on.

"Come on... I'm just curious is all. What happens when we get into a fight and I have to save your as- butt..." He managed to catch himself just in time before the curse word found it's way out. MacCready still had promises to keep, "because you keep that silly black coat on?"

Nora peered over at him with a brow raised. She was going to address that stutter mid-sentence, but decided against it. Maybe he was just trying to clean up his mouth or something? She wasn't really sure, but decided against prying.

"It's not silly. It's armor... ish…" She answered instead. They had made it to the front gates of Goodneighbor. Taking up her arm and fiddling with her Pipboy in order to ignore the current conversation, she hoped that would be enough to deter him. It appeared she was wrong.

"If by ' _ish_ ' you mean keep you warm- _ish_ , then yes, that probably will do it."

Nora groaned and glanced up at the sky again. He wasn't going to let it go, was he? Nope, he was just going to keep pushing until she told him. Then he'd probably tease her about it until kingdom come, she could see it now. That, or he'd probably give her the look that Preston did and totally not understand where she was coming from.

Nora couldn't decide which one was worse.

"Fine. I'll tell you..." She groaned, letting the Pipboy come to her chest as she folded her arms over herself in order to try and give herself some semblance of protection against this embarrassing tale. MacCready stopped and copied her stance from a few steps away, except he had a giant shit eating grin on his face that Nora wanted to pinch.

"It's...a costume. Perhaps from a certain pre-war superhero of sorts..." She whispered the last part, hoping he wouldn't hear, and closed her eyes while she waited for the teasing.

Except the teasing never came.

MacCready's arms faltered a little, but he corrected his posture within a few seconds. "Wait. You're not talking about... You mean, the Silver Shroud? You managed to find that out _here_?" He marveled.

There was no way a girl like her knew anything about comics.

MacCready wasn't one to brag, but he knew a decent amount considering his collection of comic stacks back in the Capital Wasteland. It was a childish fascination, born out of the harsh conditions of his childhood and the desire to become something better. He didn't grow out of it, and didn't much care that he didn't. He enjoyed comics. Maybe it was a little dorky, but hey, to each their own. Right now those stacks were back with Duncan to keep him company. If he couldn't be there, at least his stories would be there to keep his spirits up.

MacCready was for one thing, shocked that the Silver Shroud costume had survived the apocalypse, and for a second thing, was even more surprised that she had managed to not only find it, but use it as her own armor.

Nora whipped her head in his direction to glare at him in surprise. "I managed, yes. How do you know about the Silver Shroud. Isn't that a little bit before your time?" She questioned, wanting to know just exactly how he'd known anything about such a big part of her previous life.

MacCready just shrugged his shoulders and gave her an easy smile.

"I know things."

"You know _things_?" She echoed. Trying to get information out of him was difficult.

"Yeah. I like comics." He continued. His smile morphed into a smirk as he watched several emotions play out on her face. MacCready waited to see what her reaction would be.

Nora ran her hand through her black hair and smiled. It was a genuine one this time, and pretty large. She saw no point in trying to hide it from him. It seemed like this MacCready was full of surprises.

"Color me surprised then." Nora answered, shaking her head as her fingers left her scalp. "You're different from what I expected." She continued, once again being very truthful with him and letting her thoughts process outside of her own head. In this short amount of time he had surprised her twice. Once with his easy going, joking nature, and now knowing such a strange and unorthodox thing in this time period. Not many people had a penchant for comic books. At least, not anymore.

She was also surprised he let out that he even enjoyed anything, since she was pretty sure MacCready was one to keep things to himself. Maybe they would get along better than she thought…

"What? Mercenaries where you come from don't read comics? How _dare_ they..." MacCready feigned shock, placing a palm over his chest for emphasis and earning a loud laugh from Nora.

The two of them continued out of Goodneighbor and down the beaten path. He wasn't sure where they were going. Didn't think to ask. Right now that didn't matter to him, though. He was having a good time with this new lady.

Nora. She was alright.

"Why do you think I'm impersonating the Silver Shroud? Someone's gotta teach them what superheroes are all about."

MacCready laughed loudly at that.

Yeah, she was definitely alright.


	3. A Nerd By Any Other Name

So a lot of people favorited and followed this, so I guess that means I'm doing something right.

Welcome fellow MacCready trash lovers! You are safe here!

If there's anything I could be doing better, or any constructive criticism, please let me know. I usually take a few hours to write an entire chapter, review, and correct what I can on my own so I often miss things.

Thank you for taking the time to follow and favorite, that was what finally got my ass in gear to write another chapter instead of making another settlement!

* * *

Exiting Goodneighbor had been easy, but once the pair were outside the walls there was a silence that hung between the two of them. Nora was still fiddling with her Pipboy. MacCready wondered if it was some sort of impulsive thing or if she just did it when she was nervous. Everyone had a tell. You didn't get very far on your own out in the commonwealth without learning to read between the lines.

And here he thought the conversation thus far was going swimmingly.

After joking back and forth out the gates about superheroes and comic books, Nora had gone quiet. MacCready opted to quiet down as well. He wanted to see where this was going. Who was going to make the first move towards a real conversation. Besides, it was usually at this time where whoever paid him would ask what he was good at, tell him what to do, or give him any manner of orders to follow. He suspected Nora would be no different, however with the way she could fling sarcasm and jokes back and forth with him, he was beginning to think otherwise. Maybe she wasn't used to hiring someone. Maybe she wasn't used to having someone at her back.

The minutes ticked by. Nora still hadn't moved from the gate. MacCready was getting impatient.

If she wasn't going to make the first move, he'd have to fill in the gaps.

Just when he was about to open his mouth to let out a smart comment about standing around in the open, Nora's head shot up. It was almost like she had forgotten where they even were. Almost like she forgot there was another person around her. It was very strange.

"I'm sorry." She started with. And to say that took MacCready by surprise would be an understatement.

"For..." He continued, waiting for her to piece together more of her apology. He wasn't sure where this was going and was once again caught off guard by her aloof and enigmatic nature.

"I'm not used to... Well, let's just say I'm used to being on my own." Nora finished. She had finally stopped fiddling with that damned machine.

"I can see that." MacCready teased. Wasn't very often a person could go from joking around to standing stark still in the middle of an alleyway. "You make a habit of standing out in the open for anyone to shoot?" He continued, waiting to see where this jibe would get him. Probably nowhere. Still, it wasn't like him to hold much back in the way of conversation. Some would say he was a bit of a smart ass. That usually didn't go over well, but he had trouble stopping himself sometimes. It was compulsive.

Instead of groaning or something like he half expected her to, Nora just gave a small, breathy smile and looked down at the ground. Her hands were fiddling with the sleeves of her jacket. It must have been a nervous thing, MacCready was sure of it.

"I wouldn't really know. Never had anyone to point that out before."

MacCready considered that. It seemed like she traveled alone often. That, or she was just pulling his leg and remaining guarded like before when he tried to ask her personal questions without really asking. He had a backhanded way of doing things.

"So you're used to being on your own then?" He decided to probe further. Getting information out of her would definitely be difficult. MacCready usually wasn't one to pry. In fact, most times he didn't really care about whoever he was following. Anytime they pointed, he shot. Simple. Efficient. He liked it better that way.

It didn't seem like things would be going that way this time.

He couldn't tell if he was anxious or excited about that. Perhaps annoyed too, since he usually didn't play well with others. However, Nora was beginning to become very interesting to him. It was strange finding a person and genuinely being curious about them. MacCready hadn't experienced that since he was a kid. She was different enough to be a novelty in this world. The fact that she knew anything about comics also placed her high on his hierarchy of interesting people who loved awesome things, as he happened to be as well, so he also had that to consider.

Perhaps this time would be different.

Maybe it would pay to get to know her a little better.

"You can say that, I guess." Nora replied. She was walking towards him now. MacCready found himself standing a little straighter at her movements. Once she got within an acceptable distance for personal space, she continued onward, "I'll disclose this to you now, I've never really hired anyone before... I'm not really sure what comes next." She looked up at him with her doe eyes. It was almost like she was waiting for him to fill in the openings of this different partnership.

Hell, he wasn't even sure what to expect from this. How was he supposed to make the decisions? He was just a mercenary for christ's sake. The only thing anyone expected of him was to shoot.

There she was catching him off guard again.

MacCready's fingers went towards the brim of his hat. He was adjusting it down over his eyes. Partly to shield himself from her intense gaze, and partly to think more about how he was supposed to answer this.

He saw two options. One, to tell her truthfully that he wasn't supposed to make the decisions here. After all, the caps spoke for themselves. She hired him, he was hers until the offer expired or he decided to leave. Or two, he could make something up and hope for the best. Paint himself in a more authoritative light. Let her follow him.

He liked the way the second option felt. The illusion of power was tantalizing. He hadn't felt that in so long that he almost longed to be the one to call the shots. That didn't get him caps though.

MacCready decided on the first. Besides, Nora had been honest with him from the get-go. He wasn't about to sulley whatever weird friendship might blossom with him having delusions of grandeur or being a bad person. MacCready was an asshole, but he wasn't a bad guy.

"You make the rules, Boss. You point, I shoot." Is what he went with. It placed the ball in her court and allowed him to divert to her judgement on the matter. He couldn't' help but feel a little curious about what she would conjure up. Besides, if he didn't like how things were going, he could always leave. There was no agreement on how long he could stay. It was never defined. Just a lump sum of caps upfront. This allowed MacCready the freedom to look out for himself and also gave him the opportunity to pull one over on those who he could take advantage of, or those who were just too asinine to warrant prolonged contact with. He had to look out for himself after all.

Nora seemed to take this into thought as her head bobbed vertically and she glanced away. She didn't answer for a while, perhaps rehearsing something in her head. MacCready noted she seemed to spend a lot of time in there. Much of their conversations weren't exactly tit for tat. Nora seemed to take everything in and consider all possibilities before she answered.

"I see." She finally whispered. They were still standing arms length apart, but Nora shifted positions in order to cock out the hip she favored and place her arms over her chest.

"I'm not usually one for letting out details of my personal life, and I can deduce that you're not the type of man to really listen to that kind of stuff from buyers anyway, so I'll keep it short." Her eyes found his again and he noted how intense they looked. Those big eyes were part of her features and even though they made her seem a little innocent, right now she looked ever the authority figure.

MacCready had half a mind to give her lip about judging a book by its cover, as he honestly was interested to hear her story. Maybe there was a time when he didn't care. Not every person he came across warranted his full and undivided attention. Most out here were just trying to survive like he was anyway. He buttoned his lip when he noticed she was about to continue her speech.

"I don't ask for much in this partnership. All I'm looking for is someone to watch my back. Someone who works well with me. Someone who won't give me crap for being who I am." Nora continued.

MacCready saw it fit to interrupt her then, wanting to lighten her gaze and the overall atmosphere he found himself in. A defense mechanism he never grew out of. "You mean a thief?" He dared, smirking. How long could Nora put up with his antics?

"I'm not a thief..." She started, but seemed to second guess herself. That answer was fired right away, without the usual seconds of silence between the two of them. He must have hit a nerve. " _Per se_." Nora amended, her fingers fiddling with themselves. She had lost her previous confidence, her head glancing towards the ground. MacCready had won this battle of wits.

Even though he had won, he couldn't help but feel a little bad. Nora looked a little hurt by what he had said. He considered apologizing but thought against it. He didn't know this woman well enough to let that side of him show. "Like I said before, I don't turn my nose up at much. You'll know when I do."

She seemed to accept that answer.

Nora's head came back up and her arms unfolded. "Okay then. For now, I lead. You follow?" She already started walking, getting a few steps ahead of him before she noted he wasn't following behind. This caused her to glance back at him from over her shoulder. Seemed she was a little apprehensive about him keeping his word. Good. It would do him well to have her on her toes around him.

"You lead, I follow." He echoed, coming an acceptable distance behind her and waiting for Nora to take point.

He would follow for now.

[ - ]

After their strange relationship was established a little more, it was easier for Nora to be a little more relaxed around him. A few weeks had passed and the pair were beginning to get a little more comfortable with each other. She didn't fiddle with her machine as much and for that he was grateful. There wasn't long silences between them as there was before. Nora was letting some of her guard down and being a little bit more genuine with him. It was easier not to overthink as much with MacCready. She found she didn't have to hide much from him, especially since all manner of sneaking, sarcasm, and stealing didn't' even have him batting an eye.

The pair had been traveling for a few weeks together. Each day getting a little easier, and each day MacCready watched as Nora started to get more and more relaxed with him. It was odd at first, and if he was being honest a little bit off putting. He wasn't one to buddy up with another so easily.

He could recall the first time he had been a little nonplussed with her overall distinct personality.

It had been about a few days or so after the talk they had outside of Goodneighbor. MacCready was crouched behind an embankment while Nora was inside relocating all of the raider goods into her pack. He had to hand it to her, she was pretty quiet whenever she got around to doing her thing. Usually she'd have him be lookout while she went around taking whatever she could get her little hands on. MacCready never objected either way. Whether it was stealing or just "re-purposing old leftovers" (as she called it), Nora had always been fair and given him half. That was another thing that had surprised him.

He quickly got over that, especially after she had taken apart an old cash register and promptly handed him half of the caps she had taken.

He was extremely surprised at that, and found himself asking "You're serious then?" without even realizing he had breathed it out. Nora had just smiled that toothy grin at him, just like the first time she had handed him that wad of cash in Goodneighbor.

That was the start of something beautiful.

MacCready began to warm up to her after that.

Now he found himself holed up behind a broken window in a random house raiders had ransacked and made their own. The pair were dangerously close to a raider village when Nora had suggested checking it out. Shrugging his shoulders and letting her lead the way, he wasn't really afraid of what was in store for them. Most of the dealings he had with Nora thus far were reconnaissance. Nora explained that she was simply exploring for the most part right now, after MacCready had asked what their objective was. Sometimes they'd get into the occasional firefight. Nora could handle her own with her pistols, and favored stealth over all other things, so most of the time their enemies were caught off guard and swiftly dispatched. That or they were too quiet to be heard. Either way it made him happy.

Nora enjoyed exploring. She was adamant about finding new locations on the map she had on her Pipboy. He didn't mind it right now, after all they always came out filled to the brim with weapons, ammo, and an assortment of junk that Nora couldn't part with no matter how many times he complained to her about carrying it. Dragging back whatever they could to the nearest settlement proved its worth in caps. MacCready was fond of this, but often wondered just what she was getting at.

There had to be more to her than this.

Much of her objectives seemed to be purely random and based on whatever desire she had that day. It didn't appear like she had much in the way of a future plan. Who was he to judge though. As long as the caps were flowing and he could get some back to Duncan, he didn't mind.

Whatever peculiarities she had for finding new locations was her business.

There were days when they were out in the Commonwealth, after going through a location, where Nora would look at her map longingly. It was almost like there was something else she wanted to do, but didn't have the heart to. That, or... he honestly wasn't really sure.

It was too difficult of an emotion to place, but a glance too meaningful to be ignored. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him. Maybe she was just trying to test the waters with him to see how good he was.

MacCready had no idea she was running from something. Something big. He wouldn't figure that out for a while.

Watching those raiders from a distance in his scope, to make sure they wouldn't come any closer, while Nora was cleaning house was definitely what set their relationship on a high note. If he had known then, that there in that shitty old building would be the start of something different, maybe he would have reacted differently.

He heard an intake of breath behind him. He would've jumped if he hadn't been so sure it was Nora's. They had played this game before, and now MacCready was able to tell whenever she was behind him just by listening. It also helped that Nora had this distinct smell about her. So, whenever he heard that soft little intake along with a flowery smell that seemed out of place in this world, he knew it was Nora. Didn't even have to peer behind him anymore. It was muscle memory now.

"All clear?" She whispered next to his ear. He could hear her fiddling with something and was half tempted to leave his scope. Still, he kept his eyes on the horizon. Didn't want to give the raiders a chance to get the jump on them.

"For the most part." He answered back quietly. They were far enough away that their whispers wouldn't draw any notice. "You score anything good?" He decided to ask, still peering out into the horizon.

At that Nora let out a soft chuckle. "Oh it's good." She answered, bumping him with her shoulder to signal him to relax. Nora found she had to do that from time to time. MacCready would get so focused on keeping a lookout that sometimes she'd lose him for a few minutes. After realizing that he didn't even realize he was doing it, Nora figured this was probably something born out of his time in this wasteland. While he was used to being a loner like she was, it wouldn't do well to be so hyper focused on everything. Now that there was two of them, things got along much easier. There were two sets of eyes looking out, two sets of guns to protect them.

Nora was still getting used to having another person share the same air as her. It took a little while, but after watching MacCready snipe the wings off of a stray bloodbug down the road from them a week or so ago, Nora was more apt to trust him watching out.

It was impressive to watch him. He was incredibly precise. Nora liked having another set of eyes on her whenever she faced the unknown. It made it more bearable.

Still, it seemed MacCready was a little slow going with this arrangement. Yes, he was hyper aware of everything going on around them. And yes, Nora loved that about him, but there were times when she knew there wasn't anything around for miles and he would still be crouched in that position and peering out in his scope. She took it upon herself to correct this behavior as best she could. That's where the shoulder bump came in. The first time she did it he was caught so off guard by her touching him that he gaped at her. Almost looked like a fish.

Nora laughed for about ten minutes after that. Almost to the point of hysterics. MacCready pretended like he was mad, but she could see it when he turned and the left side of his mouth twitched up into a ghost of a smirk that he didn't mind her teasing. Good thing they had found shelter in one of the abandoned houses, because that girl could snort like a pig when she lost it.

After that it wasn't so bad. Nora had taken to shoulder bopping him whenever he got too serious. Someone had to teach the poor guy how to chill for a second or two. Once he felt her, he relaxed almost immediately, as long as the situation permitted it. Which is exactly where they found themselves now. The two of them crouched behind a wall with a cracked window, with MacCready peeing into her bag of goodies.

"Good, huh? What, you find another gun or something?" He asked her, his curiosity getting the best of him as he reached his hand closer towards the bag.

Nora lightly smacked the top of his hand. Her grin was infectious. Even though he was a little salty about the playful smack, MacCready couldn't help but over dramatize his pain to try and make her feel bad. It never worked. But, if he couldn't have any fun out here then what was the damn point of it all?

"Ow, jeez Nora! You abuse me." He whined.

Nora just smirked at him and rolled her eyes. "I did not. I barely hit you, you big baby. Now relax and close your eyes." At his raised eyebrows she folded her arms over her chest and gave him a look. "Don't get any ideas. Just trust me."

Trust. That was a heavy word. He didn't exactly trust her all the way yet, but she had never steered him wrong before. They'd been traveling together for quite some time now and he still hadn't had the desire to leave, so that was also something to consider.

Nora just had this way about her that let his guard down. She was very easy to get along with. He could joke with her and be himself a little around her. It's not everyday you can find someone who can tolerate how much of a giant butt hole he could be. Yet, here they were. And against his better judgement MacCready found himself rolling his eyes into closing.

"Stick out your hands." She commanded.

He choked out a laugh, no doubt earning another look from Nora. "If you want me to touch something, doll, all you have to do is ask." It was in his nature to joke, and in his brain this was turning into something dirty. Of course he was going to comment on it. Of course he would try to get a rise out of her. He wouldn't be Robert Joseph MacCready if he didn't.

He could feel Nora's breath closer to him and heard her groan loudly. Good. Serves her right.

"You're incorrigible do you know that?"

He smirked in her general direction, or what he hoped was.

"I've been told."

His hands were outstretched in front of him as he waited. The seconds dragged on and he was getting a little anxious. What exactly was she trying to pull here? He heard more rustling, then a silent curse from Nora. Probably lost what she was going to give him in that abyss of junk she had.

This was typical.

The girl had trouble finding anything in that profuse amount of crap she carted around. She was a hoarder of all things, and even at his incessant whining about how heavy things were, Nora would always find a reason to keep whatever it was she had picked up. Most of the stuff she picked up was usually old world crap. He didn't really know why she favored those things so much as they weren't really worth anything to vendors. Still, he would always find her gazing longingly at a telephone, old fan, pencils, your general decaying junk strewn about the commonwealth in various forms of disrepair. Things that had no use in this wasteland.

Don't even get him started on the old, burnt books she would tear up over.

He didn't even have the heart to tease her about how upset she got whenever she touched her hands lovingly on the front covers. It was almost like she was mourning each one she came across.

The more they traveled together, the more MacCready noticed her particular obsession with all things old world. Perhaps what she wanted to show him was another toy car or something, maybe it was something she hadn't seen before. He never knew with her.

After a few seconds Nora made a triumphant sound. She had found whatever she was looking for and continued toward where he was waiting. He had a desire to let her know he'd been waiting forever in a rather snarky manner, but held it back. MacCready might not have known her that long but if she was making a big fuss over this it must have been important.

He felt something smooth and light placed into his upturned hands. Then he began waiting a few beats for Nora to give him some indication of being done. When it didn't come after a few seconds, he decided he was too curious for his own good. Didn't want to wait anymore.

MacCready opened his eyes and peered down. It took a few seconds for him to register what was in his hands. His brain tumbled to a stop after his eyes finally recognized it as a pretty well preserved comic book. Where in the hell had she picked this up?

"See, not everything I pick up is junk." Gloating, Nora came up beside him and sunk her head so she could look into his eyes. MacCready wasn't saying anything. Didn't look at her. Did she break him?

MacCready was still looking at the front cover of the comic book. It wasn't anything special, just your average Grognak installment. Nora was excited to give it to him as soon as she spotted it lying inside of one of the cardboard boxes. It wasn't every day she came across a well preserved comic book. This one still had a lot of it's color left and didn't have any of the edges torn or singed. After their interlude in Goodneighbor, realizing that he was probably the only one who would appreciate the gesture, Nora vowed to find all the comic books she could in order to give them to him. At first it was to tease him, but traveling with him more and more made her realize how thankful she was to have him around. Even though a lot of her old personality was gone, he still managed to bring out some of her old spunk.

Joking around with him. Laughing. These were genuinely new feelings for her in this dilapidated world. She hadn't laughed in so long, she almost forgot she could do that. And snorting when she got too rowdy? That was just unheard of. She would've been embarrassed that one time it happened after she bumped his shoulder for the first time if she wasn't so surprised she could still make that noise. The fact that she found something funny enough to snort about said a lot. Being around someone who brought that on was also something that was surprising.

She was grateful for him.

Before she met him, Nora could feel the pieces of herself slowly slipping away. When she woke up in that ice box it was almost like she was in a daze. Lingering pieces of her memory were frozen in time. Seeing Nate dead and forever encased in the ice was unsettling. If she looked back, it was almost as if he were sleeping. But Nora knew better. She saw it with her own eyes. Had to live with the pain of losing the love of her life. Watching her son being taken away. That was enough to drive anyone into a ridiculous downward spiral into depression.

Nothing is how it was before and even though she can recall these things, have these distant memories of years long before (even though they were mere minutes for her), that life is gone now. For a while she struggled with the new aspects of her personality born out of the harshness of this new world. Pieces of herself were forgotten, and those she could no longer deal with were overshadowed and replaced with new qualities in order to survive.

Everything felt so hollow and arbitrary for the longest time…

She didn't even have the heart to continue her search for her son for the longest time. The depression ravaged her and left her feeling like there was nothing really worth living for. What was keeping her here except for the misguided hope that maybe her son was still out there, somewhere? What child could survive in a world as harsh as this?

There was no hope in her heart. And just when she thought she was going nowhere, getting swallowed up by this new world, Dogmeat found her…

While that stopped the downward spiral for the time being, it didn't mend how broken she felt.

There were pieces she was still losing... Could still feel slipping away.

Resigning herself to help those she could, even though it felt like nothing really mattered in the grand scheme of things, was all she really could do. Dogmeat was her reason for surviving for a long time, even though she was sure the animal could survive on his own. And then slowly she met the others, driven to them by serendipity. Preston and the minutemen, Piper, and even Codsworth had survived this harsh world. Why couldn't she? Why shouldn't she? There was no reason to give up just yet. Especially when Nick Valentine vowed to help her on her quest.

But she just didn't feel... ready for that.

What kind of mother was she, that she was so unsettled by finding her son?

There were other things she needed to take care of. Other things to distract her with. Perhaps she thought she was too broken to ever be that woman again. To ever be a mother again. She lost her chance the moment she watched Shaun ripped from her husband's arms. Lost it the moment she saw the light leave her husband's eyes.

Or maybe she was so scared of finding out that he too had left this world. If Shaun had died…

No.

She couldn't dwell on that. If there was a chance for him to be alive, she would rather think that way than deal with the looming possibility that her young child was lost to this world as well. It was the fear that prevented her from going further with her quest. In her current state, Nora would not be able to deal with her son being dead.

So she just didn't.

As soon as Nick had said he could help her, she fled. No one helped her with things. No one cared. No one got close enough to know the parts she was missing.

She was the helper. She was the liar. She was whatever this world needed her to be. She could hide what she needed to in order to get the job done.

Nora didn't even have time to process the idea that someone else actually wanted to help her, without asking for anything in return, before she found herself in Goodneighbor. Hancock had welcomed her with open arms to his city of misfits. He was one of her favorite people, and a good friend to her. He didn't ask questions, he just accepted her despite her misfit state. And that is exactly how she felt now. She was a misfit. Not meant for this world but stuck in it anyway. Trying to survive just like the rest of them. Goodneighbor offered a sanctuary not only from the outside, but from her crumbling psyche. Despite its grotesque and often hard exterior, Goodneighbor was a safe haven for her.

Days were spent there, trying to bring herself back together. before she stumbled upon the Third Rail after hearing discussions from the other misfits in town. After feeling like she didn't fit in anywhere besides Goodneighbor so far, that was her next stop. Her curiosity was piqued.

Finding MacCready was chance. She had hoped that he could be a rock for her, even if she never divulged anything to him. Just having someone being around because they were paid to. Someone who wouldn't question anything. Ask the wrong things. Get too nosy. Look down at these new parts of her she was finding. That was what she needed to make herself stronger. To be more in control.

And here the two of them were, crouched behind a decaying wall. Nora hadn't been this anxious about giving someone anything in awhile. In fact... This was the first time she had given anyone anything in years, technically. If she thought on it too long, she might notice its significance, but at this very point in time Nora was more interested in getting in MacCready's face and trying to decipher his feelings rather than question her own. Misdirection was a beautiful thing.

MacCready felt her breath against his face. Now that his brain was starting to work again, he started to flip through the pages with a genuine smile on his face. There was a light to his eyes that Nora hadn't seen before this very moment. Even his smile was different. That meant that he liked it.

That made her happy.

"Well?" She uttered, still waiting on him to say something. Anything.

"Where did you even find this?" MacCready beamed. His legs were acting of their own volition and sliding him down the side of the wall so he could sit on the ground better without the added worry of being spotted from the broken window above.

Nora came closer. He didn't have to look to feel the smile in the way she was talking. "Around. Do you like it?" She finally asked. She was too impatient waiting for him to collect himself. If anyone could appreciate a good comic book, it would be MacCready.

"I used to collect these when I was a kid. Of course I like it." He chuckled, finally glancing up at her for the first time through this whole ordeal. He still couldn't believe she had managed to snag one in such good condition. That she had even given it to him was also surprising, but then again Nora was a pretty surprising gal.

"Collect them as a kid... you don't say. Wouldn't have guessed that..." Nora teased, coming down on her own rear in order to sit next to him on the dirty floor. The raiders were long forgotten.

MacCready squinted his eyes at her, affronted. Just when he was about to let loose another wisecrack about how she was just as much of a nerd as he was (who else even had heard of the Silver Shroud anyway), Nora had placed herself so close to his shoulder that he found himself shutting his mouth. While it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to be close to him during some parts of the day, this was in a league of its own. Wasn't everyday that his employer rubbed shoulders with him. Sure she bumped it occasionally but he usually shrugged it off as one of her idiosyncrasies. He tried catching her eyes to see what was going on, read into her behavior more, but she wasn't even looking at him. Her whole face had become something so different, a grin washed over her features. He hadn't really seen her this enraptured before.

"Scoot over, I want to see." She commanded.

He did a double take to make sure she was serious. She had wormed her way even closer towards his side, almost taking up most of the room where they were holed up. Her head was precariously placed just over his shoulder. Eyes capturing every part of the cover that she could. He couldn't exactly feel her shoulder on his skin, but he could feel her breath on it. Still not meeting his gaze, MacCready didn't move until she brought her grey eyes to his blues. Was this some sort of boundary they shouldn't be crossing?

When she finally peered up at him after waiting seconds for him to listen to her, or do anything, he finally spoke. "You mean you didn't look at it yet?" MacCready was surprised she hadn't fingered through it herself.

"Are you kidding? I was waiting for you. Now hurry up and open it already." Nora's face was very close to his. MacCready felt a little uncomfortable. Not because he didn't like it, but because this was new territory for the two of them.

They had never been so close before. He could see the small specks of freckles decorating the bridge of her nose. Immediately after that he looked back down to the comic. Taking the arm not encased by her warmth, he pulled the brim of his hat further down on his face. He was trying to hide his eyes and the small blush he knew he could feel accumulating. He shouldn't be noticing things like that on his cap provider. She was simply a way to get money. There would be no freckle counting. No matter how much he might have wanted to.

After he adjusted his hat, he coughed into a fist. Trying to hide his awkwardness further and hoping his voice wouldn't crack or something weird. That was the last thing he needed right now, especially with someone like Nora who probably wouldn't let him live it down for the rest of his life, and would probably cause him to melt into the ground from embarrassment or incessant teasing.

Feeling comfortable enough with himself in order to deflect the situation back to snark, MacCready barked a "Hold your horses woman, jeez." after he turned his head towards her waiting form. "Let a man enjoy the sight of an unburnt comic book for a little." He patted the front cover affectionately as he said his peace.

Nora smirked at him.

She was tempted to pinch him a little or something, just to get him going. He was being so snarky after all. She had brought him that comic book out of the goodness of her heart…

 _Mostly_.

Part of her also was curious as to how he would react.

After watching him fiddle with the brim of his hat, Nora filed that behavior away for a later date. There was little he could do to hide these things from her. She was used to picking them out. She could tease him about the blush she saw beneath there, but didn't want to spoil anything. They had a good thing going right now. She didn't want to mess anything up.

"Yes. It's wonderful. Beautiful. Whatever. Now let's open it up and see what's inside. I haven't read this one before." Nora whispered, closing the distance between them. She wasn't touching him, but was just about. There were still boundaries to keep.

Twice in the span of ten minutes MacCready found himself double taking. Did he just hear what he thought he did?

"You read comics?" He asked, incredulous. His face was already turned towards hers with his eyebrows raised. There was no way in hell she read comics too…

"Maybe." Nora whispered. When she still felt him looking at her, she couldn't help the pout that came to her face. "Fine. A little. Yes!" She finally blurted. "Are you happy now?"

MacCready gave her a shit eating grin and turned back towards the comic book. He finally managed to open up a page. Nora sunk her head closer to it to get a good look.

"...Nerd." MacCready joked after a few seconds.

Slowly Nora's head rose. The glare on her face was priceless.

MacCready couldn't help but laugh.


	4. Sharing is Caring

Hello my fellow nerds,

Sorry it's taken me so long to write something resembling a chapter. I've got a few online courses this summer that are really driving me crazy with the insane amount of busy work. With all the writing I do for that sometimes it is hard to get my butt in gear.

Thank you for those who favorited and reviewed, honestly that is what got me to sit down and write this chapter. I know it might not seem like it but when I get those notifications it's always like... 'Oh hey, people still read my trash I need to make them proud!'

So, thank you for making me want to write again. Enjoy!

* * *

"So if you had the choice between flight and telepathy, which superpower would you choose?"

MacCready thought hard on that one. It wasn't every day he got into hypothetical discussions, much less ones dealing in superpowers, with an employer. But, then again Nora wasn't really considered a run of the mill employer either. They had been bunkered down in that abandoned house for a few hours now. The sun was starting to set, and the pair were still crouched beneath the window sill using the light from Nora's Pipboy to keep the comic book from being shrouded in darkness. He hadn't realized how long they had been at it until he managed to take a quick cursory glance around the room to find that it had gotten significantly darker.

"Well you have to give me specifics here. I mean, what kind of telepathy is it?" He answered back.

Nora smirked at him, glad he was willing to participate in her silly game. It was nice to think about nonsensical things every once in awhile. She had become so focused on forgetting all of the things that hurt her and became so numb inside. Having this opportunity to dip back into an imaginary scenario, no matter how silly, made her feel more at ease than she had felt in some time. MacCready did have that effect on her though.

"Well obviously it would have to be being able to control things with your mind. That's the best kind." Nora answered back.

MacCready huffed at her and folded his arms, letting the comic book fall onto his legs. They had finished reading it a few minutes ago and had changed over to this discussion after MacCready made a joke about how flight was the best superpower.

"That's not the best kind, A, and B, flight is still better."

Nora gaped at him. She was shocked that he would consider that the best option. Having telepathic powers was always something she thought was awesome. Being able to control objects without lifting a finger, getting a glimpse into someone else's head, it was all a nosy person like Nora had wanted.

"You're a brat, A, and B, fine. If we ever get superpowers from all this radiation, I'm going to totally have the upper hand on you then." Nora quipped.

MacCready chuckled. "That's quite a bit of wishful thinking. I think the radiation is more on the lines of… Oh, I don't know… A slow death, maybe?" He smirked and fingered the brim of his hat. He could hear Nora's sharp intake of breath and couldn't help but let another small chuckle slip. He loved teasing her and poking her with sarcasm to see how far he could get her.

"Besides…. I could just fly away from you anyway, so I'd still win." He inclined his chin and waited to see her reaction.

She was silent for a few beats. Her head was looking down at her lap, thinking of a good retort. MacCready watched the gears in her head work. Sometimes it took her a little while to get him back, but she usually did. Even if she didn't, it was still fun to watch her brain try to come up with something even more sarcastic. She never did disappoint.

"Typical MacCready tactic then: running away from a fight."

"Ah… I wouldn't say running away, per se. I'd call it… tactical evasion."

Nora's hands flew up at that and she jumped up from her seated position next to him. She started groaning and doing that thing where she shakes her head all disappointed while her arms are waving in the air. MacCready wasn't swayed. He had won this battle of wits again and any form of pouting on her part was just the icing on the cake.

"You're a brat, do you know that?" She finally asked after she walked a few steps away from him. Leave it to him to always have the upperhand on her in conversation. He could be so infuriating sometimes. Even the most silly conversations had to be a battle of wits, one he usually won. It was hard getting him to be serious about anything for any amount of time. He had his moments sure, like in a firefight. But when it was just the two of them trying to pass the time, he was so guarded sometimes it was infuriating.

Nora couldn't really talk though, and that's what finally got her to accept his behavior for the most part. Both of them were trying to hide pieces of themselves away. The relationship was only a few weeks old after all. No matter how well they got along, no matter how much they jabbed and joked with each other, there was still that wall there that neither could cross. She had her way of being distant and this was MacCready's.

"I've been told." He answered back. Slowly he rose from his seated position, making sure to take the comic book in his hands before doing so. He held it reverently. She could see how gentle he was being with it as he started to tuck it away with the rest of his belongings. That meant he liked it a lot then. She hadn't seen him pick up much in the way of treasures. MacCready was a pretty practical guy who always got on her case for how much crap she picked up while they were out getting into trouble. Nora couldn't help it though, she wanted to feel a connection again to something… anything. She lost all of her treasures and possessions when the bombs fell. It was natural to want to have things again.

Right now though, all she had to speak of were a various assortment of weaponry and a lumpy bed back at Sanctuary.

Sure there were a few odds and ends, but nothing really mattered to her anyway. All of the things that did were buried with her husband and their lost child. How could you replace the things you lost in this barren wasteland anyway? Everything was damaged and burnt to shit…

Still, that didn't take away her desire. Nora may have been a hoarder, but most of the stuff she picked up she sold or used for scrap anyway. With all of the caps she collected over her months being reborn, shouldn't she find something worthwhile that meant something to her?

"Ah so you finally like something that I picked up enough to put it in that mystery bag of yours." Nora remarked as MacCready finished zippering up the bag. He patted it affectionately.

"You have finally appeased me it seems." Came his sarcastic reply. Nora rolled her eyes at him.

"What's in there anyway? Your entire comic book stash? Or do you collect something weird like old umbrellas?"

"Well, one, that's an oddly specific thing to mention. Mayhaps you are the hoarder of umbrellas? Which wouldn't surprise me considering half the shi-.. Stuff I see you pick up." MacCready retorted. What he collected was his business. Never mind that she never seemed to mention him strategically picking out any toy cars she may have gotten her paws on. Either she didn't notice, or this was her way of getting him to admit it. Regardless, he wasn't going to budge on this. He may be getting friendlier with her but this wasn't the time to go blabbing to her about Duncan. If he took a little bit of the scrap to save for his boy, who cares? Not like she could possibly understand that desire - MacCready was sure of it. That meant there was no use trying to explain it.

"It's called repurposing." Nora corrected, to which MacCready just rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

"Regardless, it's my secret stash and I'll never tell you. So there. Guess all you want, you weirdo."

"Oh don't worry, I'll figure it out one of these days, Mac. I was just trying to give you an easy out but I guess you just want this to go the hard way." Nora cocked her hip and eyed him like she did that first time in Goodneighbor. He noted how much she favored that look, so he began to call it 'the Nora look'. Only the people Nora traveled with seemed to know what he was talking about. It was like an inside joke they all shared whenever they ran back into a settlement to say hello.

"That's what she said."

Nora tried not to smile, or laugh, or do anything that might positively reinforce that. Sometimes he caught her so off guard with the things he said. And he could be funny too, but there was no way she would let him win again.

"...You're literally the worst."

Trying to keep a straight face, she managed to turn her back to him before the breathy laugh came. It didn't matter though, she knew he could see right through her anyway. For an ex-lawyer she sure did have a few tells.

"Riiiiiight. That's why you keep me around. I forgot. I thought it was just my sparkling personality." MacCready slung his bag over his shoulder and let his mouth form a smirk. She knew enough about him to know he couldn't have let that one go without saying something.

"Yeah, it's something alright."

[ - ]

When the pair had finally calmed down from their snarky banter, and after assessing the area a bit more, they had decided that the raiders had left. It had been a few hours since they first found the house, so they had probably left to go back to whatever hell hole they crawl out of. It was getting late, so Nora decided that they should stay here for the night. MacCready was a little leery with the looming threat of the raiders, but if anyone could make some place safe enough to sleep, it was Nora.

Her weapons and trap assortment was extensive, and probably would be alarming to him save for the fact that he was oddly impressed by it. He hadn't known any other person who was as heavily stacked as she was which made him feel oddly safer in her presence. There was always a trick up her sleeve, always another weapon stored away that could turn the battle in their favor.

Nora was busy setting up the nights defenses while MacCready searched the upstairs of the broken building. He liked to be high up enough where he could see things from a distance, so they often camped out in the top story of the houses they ransacked. Nora didn't mind it, and even if she did she gave no notice about it. He let his scope fly through the surrounding area, making sure that nothing was within a worrying distance. It would be completely dark soon. MacCready noted the flock of radstag up the hill a ways and was tempted to ask Nora if he could go out and get them. Fresh meat was always a treat, and could be hard to come by.

"Nora." He finally decided to call out after he made sure nothing was in the area surrounding the radstag. At least nothing that would pose him a threat.

He heard her voice from downstairs, "Yeah?"

"How do you feel about radstag?" He inquired.

She didn't answer right off the bat - he was about to call her again when he heard her soft voice - "Honestly, I feel pretty bad for them. I mean they're so skittish and all-"

MacCready face palmed. Leave it to Nora to have sentimental feelings about the wild life.

"Not like that. To eat."

"Oh… In that case I'm down."

MacCready shook his head again and smiled. Nora was different. He didn't even have it in his heart to make fun of her for that one, as much as he wanted to. Her perspective was so vastly different from his sometimes, and the fact that she still had that sentimental nature was honestly pretty endearing to him. It's not what was keeping him around though, well... at least not the only thing.

MacCready decided to shoot from the top window he was perched at. This way, he wasn't too close to the action in case things got hairy. Now, sniping a stray radstag from a flock wasn't dangerous per se, but who knows what other predators would come around once they heard the shot.

There were three in the distance, grazing on a patch of grass. He lined up the kill shot and inhaled. Pulling the trigger was the easy part, it was the aftermath that he would have to think about. As he exhaled he did just that, pulled the trigger with practiced ease and feeling the recoil of his shot hit his shoulder like an old friend. The radstag didn't even know what was coming and fell down within a few seconds of the shot firing. The other two got the message and quickly galloped from the scene.

"You get it?" Nora asked from downstairs. She was still probably fixing up the traps and setting a perimeter around the area like she favored. Again, MacCready noted how effortless and safe things felt when he was traveling with her.

"Yup. Going to need a pick up though."

"I'll come with you. Backup is always a must out here."

"Whatever you say, mother hen."

Nora chuckled and finished placing the last of her trip wire over the back door. Whatever got in here was definitely in for a bad time. MacCready's boots could be heard coming down the stairs so Nora jogged over to him with a smile on her face. He returned it and lead the way with Nora close at his heels.

"I say we carve up what we can carry back and leave the rest. It's far enough away that nothing should notice us."

Nora nodded her head and kept pace with MacCready as they exited the door, making sure to reset the wiring she had placed down in the front door. "Whatever you think is best, I trust you."

She said it so cavalier that MacCready found himself almost tripping over nothing. He tried to play it off and keep walking like nothing had happened, but there was no doubt she had noticed.

Trust… That was a heavy word for him. He hadn't had anyone say that to him in quite some time.

In fact, the last person to say that to him was his late wife, Lucy. She was the only one who was able to see the good in him. The only one to really take the time out to get to know him enough to see that most of his sarcasm and ire were smokescreen. The fact that Nora shared this sentiment, and that she was so open and honest about it, gave him a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to shrug it off as simply being surprised, but if he dug a little deeper MacCready might see the importance of it.

Nora was leaving her life in his hands. She had grown to trust his judgement on and off the battlefield. MacCready wasn't a bad guy, and generally had her best interest in mind with whatever he did. Sure she could chalk it up as him wanting to get paid, but there were little signs that he meant it. Whenever he got too focused on checking their surroundings, whenever he noticed Nora was taking the graveyard shift again during their nights together and tried to pester her about it, whenever he quipped at her for not eating… Sure, nine times out of ten he pestered her with sarcasm. However there were the little things he did for her that made her realize how much he cared. Even if he wouldn't admit it. Even if he would joke it off or pretend like he didn't, she could still see.

It was MacCready's special way of showing it and she treasured it.

She had gone so long in her previous life without letting people in, without telling them how much they meant to her when they were around. And now everyone was gone. She was alone with all of the memories. Instead of having that happen again, Nora wanted to be different this time around. She was granted a second shot at life and didn't want to mess it up with being afraid of rejection. It was important to her that MacCready knew she trusted him because she figured that a guy like him probably hadn't heard that from anyone in awhile, maybe even ever. Mercenary for hire, sarcastic, whiny, and distant didn't exactly spell out 'Hey I need a friend', but Nora could read through the lines enough to see the sag in his shoulder when he thought she wasn't looking. She could see the sadness in his eyes whenever there was silence between the two of them.

She wanted to make him happy. Why not do that and be truthful with herself for once?

Nora watched as he tripped and smiled to herself. She knew he wasn't going to say anything back, didn't expect him to. MacCready's hand was already coming up to finger the brim of his hat. That was his nervous tell. Nora had definitely hit something when she said that. A part of her wanted to jog up to his face and see if he was blushing, but he was doing a good job of keeping ahead of her so she couldn't. She could let him have this moment though.

There was a certain spring in both of their steps by the time they made it to the radstag.

MacCready still hadn't said anything and still had the brim of his hat covering his eyes. Nora hadn't realize it had affected him so much. By now he should've said something sarcastic. This was too quiet for MacCready.

"Mac?" She probed. He had already begun slicing up the meat with the combat knife he kept in his boot. He still hadn't looked at her either, which worried her. A few seconds ticked by and Nora was getting impatient. She hoped she hadn't crossed a line, but even if she had and made him uncomfortable, she would apologize for doing so. She wouldn't apologize for what she said though, because it was true. She needed to have it out there for him to hear.

Nora knelt down in front of him, trying to peer at his face. It was still covered enough where she could only see the shadow from the brim of his hat. "Are you alright?" She finally asked again after he had started sectioning off the pieces he cut.

He paused with his knife held a little bit above the radiated deer. "W-what? Yeah.. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

He was lying. She could tell.

Either what she said managed to hurt his feelings in some way, or he was getting ready to misdirect her again. They were awfully close to venturing into feelings territory which was something MacCready was still hesitant to do with her. It's not that he couldn't, or that he wouldn't, he just wasn't good at talking about that kind of stuff. Never really had been.

Nora gave him the look where it was almost like she was trying to peer into his soul. He hated that look. It was a very intimate look. The kind that he wasn't ready for exactly. He felt like she could see too much, like he was exposed to her somehow. He quickly glanced down to avoid her gaze and became fixated on the meat.

"Did what I say bother you?" Nora questioned. She could feel her arms coming up and over her chest defensively.

"W-what? N-no… no. It didn't." He coughed into the fist that wasn't holding the knife and started to stand up. "It's just…. I…."

Was he going to say something meaningful for once? Nora was almost curious to see where this would go as this was pretty uncharted territory for the duo. Her arms started to fall from her chest and she moved to stand up and come closer to MacCready, trying to comfort him.

"You….?" She probed, waiting for him to finish.

"I just thought, you know, you'd want some of this for yourself. I mean, I have what I'm going to eat tonight so… guess you should get started picking from the scraps here." MacCready started piling the pieces together on a piece of cloth he had gathered. He heard Nora scowl at him from somewhere next to where he was. He was trying not to look at her, he didn't want to see the disappointment on her face.

Did he want to say something? Sure. That didn't mean he knew what to say or how to say it. This was still new for him. She was still new. He wasn't ready to let Nora in just yet.

She angrily took the knife from out of his hands and knelt down next to the fallen animal.

MacCready chanced a glance her way and saw the annoyance in her eyes, he could feel it radiating off of her. He didn't mean to make her mad… Just…

"I was kidding you know."

Nora glanced up at him with a furrowed brow.

"I got this for both of us, now come on. I know you skipped lunch again today so let's get cooking.. I'm starved."

Nora's face was blank for a moment as she stood up from the radstag. She took her time wiping the knife off on her leg and sheathing it into her boot this time. As she moved to stand she was wiping off the dust from her clothes. When she was finally ready to give MacCready a piece of her mind for pulling her leg like that, she decided against it. She smiled at him instead and it caught him off guard.

He noticed she didn't eat again, which was something Nora had totally spaced on.

She did forget from time to time, and it seemed to be getting worse as the days went by. To say she had a lot on her mind would be an understatement, and sometimes filling her belly was the last thing on it.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, he still did care enough to notice and comment on that. Not many people in her life would have done the same. She took that to heart as his way of caring.

"Okay. I'm keeping the knife now though, it's your penance for pulling my leg like that."

With a hop in her step Nora started to head back toward their encampment, leaving MacCready with having to carry back all the meat.

"Fine. You know I'll get it back sooner or later anyway." MacCready answered, already following behind her a few paces.

Nora glanced back at him over her shoulder with a smirk decorating her features. MacCready couldn't help but smirk back at her. Even though it was getting pretty dark out he could still make out her features enough. The smirk she gave him was a little more aggressive than her usual one, and MacCready found himself blushing a bit at it. Good thing she probably wouldn't be able to see that or else he'd be a goner.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mac." Nora joked, coming up to the front of the house and disarming the wires she left so the two could get in.

MacCready scoffed at that. "Ouch, alright Nora." He teased. Nora let him enter first with a sweep of her hand. After she knelt back down and got to work assembly the trap again. She had no idea that all these traps she set, the safety and security she radiated, and her trust in him was what truly helped him sleep at night.

But she didn't need to know that.


	5. Two Sides of the Same Coin

Hello my readers.

I apologize for the hiatus, grad school is much harder than I anticipated. There are a lot of papers to write, and I felt so creatively drained for a while that it was hard to find the strength to write. Thankfully, the semester is over, and my creative juices are flowing again. Thank you to those who commented, followed, etc. You guys really help get my butt in gear and make me feel like writing is worth it.

Again, I am so terribly sorry about the wait. To make up for it, I give you a very long chapter that was around 21 pages in google docs. Behold my friends!

If you would be so inclined to comment, and let me know how I am doing, or what I need to improve, I would greatly appreciate it.

*This chapter has a bit of a trigger warning. I delved a little deep here, so there are mentions of suicidal thoughts/ideation. If that sort of thing is troubling to you I apologize. I have marked the section with bolded asterisks, so if you need to skip over it please feel free to do so. I wasn't sure how to appropriately mark it so I could protect whoever needed, so hopefully this is okay.*

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The meat they had collected was enough to fill their bellies for the night. There would even be enough left over to salt and leave out to dry. Nora wasn't very fond of jerky in her previous life, but now with meat so hard to come by it was often a necessity. MacCready had stepped through the front door and waited for her to get ahead of him. There was no way he would lead through her death trap. Nora quickly made her way to the front and started stepping around various trap mines and wiring. MacCready followed her footsteps to the letter, being careful not to let her get too far ahead of him. To some it may have been a little much, but it often allowed the two of them more safety throughout the night than he had in a long time.

They made it silently through the floor level, and MacCready watched as Nora started to ascend the stairs. She was still being pretty quiet, and he didn't feel the need to fill the silence for once in his life. A lot of times they would go about like this, in comfortable silence. It was something he wasn't used to. There weren't many people in his life who he could share companionable silence with.

When they made it to the top floor, MacCready dropped the bag of meat and took his spot at the window to peer out into the horizon. The sun was still setting and it looked like their kill hadn't attracted any enemies. That was a good sign. He was a little nervous about how it would go throughout the night, but the area seemed to be pretty clear for the most part. Nora's Pipboy had a knack for detecting nearby enemies, so the fact that she wasn't getting anxious said a lot.

Nora was in the back corner starting to make a small fire to cook the meat. The first time she did this he gaped at her and made a commotion. People just didn't make fires in houses, or when they could avoid it because it was often a sign for 'Hey there's people here. Come steal from us!' which MacCready generally liked to avoid. The first time he gave her shit about it, Nora simply rolled her eyes at him. It seemed that while she could handle herself in a fight, there were a lot of survival tactics she was still unaware of. He assumed it was because she came from a vault, but they never really discussed that. Come to think of it, they never really discussed much of anything serious, both preferring to misdirect with snark whenever it got to that point. As much as MacCready wanted to ask her about her past, it wasn't really his place. He had his demons and he knew she probably had hers as well.

The next time they popped into a settlement, Nora had created this small makeshift stove out of all the crap she carried around. It was small enough to fit in her pack, and it put out enough heat to cook all sorts of things. He was impressed. Nora of course decided to tease him about it, saying "See. Now you won't have to yell at me about the fire, and we won't have to eat weird cold meat anymore". He scoffed at her of course, but was still impressed. She had listened to his advice up to that point, and changed her behavior in order to make him feel better. It was nice.

Nora had set up the makeshift stove in the corner of the upstairs. He could already smell the burning wood coming from her direction. She walked over and took the meat from beside him, still quiet. Within minutes the entire upstairs smelled heavenly and he found his stomach growling loudly. Nora must have heard, because he heard that breathy laugh from behind him.

"You know I'm pretty sure the outside hasn't changed in the last five minutes since you've stared at it. How about you take a break and eat."

MacCready couldn't argue with that.

Despite his worries about what the horizon would bring, he reminded himself that while the house was pretty old and crappy, they were very well fortified thanks to Nora. He could take a break for a few minutes and scarf something down.

She was seated by the fire. He liked the way the flames played off her face.

He knelt down on the opposite side, staring hungrily at the meat she had prepared. They hadn't had radstag in a while and he was anxious to see how much better it tasted when it was thoroughly cooked.

"Seems like you outdid yourself this time, Nora" MacCready acknowledged. She smiled at his input and took a piece of the heated meat onto a plate. Instead of taking it for herself like he thought she would, Nora handed him the plate with a smile. She had done this other times before, and each time it still surprised him. She never ate first.

"Thanks Mac, it helps when the meat is good." Nora took a piece off the flames for herself on another plate she had stashed away. MacCready was too hungry to wait, so he started shoveling food into his mouth at a fast pace. Nora took her time eating, cutting and savoring each bite. She was very poised and polite in the way she ate, which was strange. Most folk, including himself, ate like it was their last meal. Because they never really knew if it was going to be. Nora had a lot of strange idiosyncrasies about her which further proved MacCready's theory of her coming from another place.

"Why do you eat like that?" He decided to ask. The juice from the steak was dribbling down his chin. He wiped at it with the back of his sleeve. Nora eyed him. The flames made her look more intimidating.

"Why do _you_ eat like _that_?" Was her retort. She stuffed another dainty piece of meat in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

MacCready groaned and put his plate down, coming down onto his rear and folding his arms. "Come on Nora, I'm serious. What's with it. I haven't met anyone that eats like that"

"Eats like a normal human being?"

"Ugh. You know what I mean. Spit it out."

Nora snorted and placed her plate on the floor, also folding her arms. "You're asking me a serious question for once, forgive me for having my guard up."

MacCready gave her the 'stop being a shit' eyes. He must really want to know the answer.

"I have my reasons." Was her final reply. She didn't much feel like eating anymore.

MacCready groaned even louder. "You're impossible." His hat came off and Nora watched as his large hands started itching his scalp. She never saw him do that before. That must mean he was irritated.

"Well forgive me for not wanting to answer such a rude question..." She trailed off and started picking at her fingers, not wanting to look up at him. "What's wrong with the way I eat anyway..." Her voice had gotten to barely above a whisper, which means she was sensitive about something. MacCready didn't think there was anything wrong with asking, but then again his perceptions about what was okay and not okay were sometimes off the mark.

"You eat so slowly. How does your food not get cold?" There. If he could rephrase it in a joking way, maybe he would get some answers out of her.

Nora stopped picking at her fingers and looked at the fire. She didn't know how to answer that without giving too much of herself away. What was she supposed to say, that was how she was taught? That you used your fork and your knife, and you wiped your mouth after every bite? No one out here ate like that anymore. She had tried to stop it, but it seemed like it was so ingrained in her that it was impossible. That's why she rarely ate around others. She knew it would be easy to pick that out. Someone would notice how strange it was to not be downing food like it was her last second on earth.

"That's the way I was taught I guess…. And it's not slow. I just like to savor the flavor?" Nora left the last part as a question, hoping that was enough.

MacCready breathed out a laugh, peering up at the ceiling and shaking his head. "Savor the flavor. That's a good one. I'll have to use that." When his head came back down and he looked at her again, Nora was still eyeing the flames. "You have a napkin dedicated to wiping your mouth in the pocket of your coat."

Nora breathed in deeply. Her attention was finally diverted from the flame to give MacCready a pout. Who was he to make fun of her hankey? So what if she liked to keep herself clean?

"How dare you." Nora barked, unfolding her arms and leaning towards MacCready. "So I like to wipe my mouth. Big deal - it's not weird."

"Nora, it's different."

"So?! Different isn't bad. I just like to be clean is all"

"Nora, you literally peeled the meat off a radstag earlier and didn't wipe your hands then. Come on."

She groaned loudly as she stood up from her seated position. He had some nerve coming at her. They'd been traveling together for a few weeks now. What was the deal with bringing this up, now, of all times? She started walking towards the window, to get away, to misdirect, to try and hide from his knowing stare. While she knew people picked up on a few of her strange habits, she never really had anyone come right out and say anything. Maybe that was because she never really traveled with anyone long enough for them to pick up on them.

She could hear MacCready sigh from behind her. Heard the crack from his ankles as he got up from the floor. She waited.

He came up beside her a few breaths later, peering out into the darkness just like she was.

"You know I didn't mean anything by it, I was genuinely just curious. Never met someone who ate like that is all. Didn't mean to upset you" MacCready apologized.

That was the second time in one day he found himself sort of apologizing to her. It was a new feeling for him, as he rarely apologized for anything. MacCready wasn't one to really care about who he hurt with what he said. He was a smart ass and a gun for hire, so it wasn't like many people he met would give a shit. Nora did though. He noticed that she could be a very sensitive person at times. Some things seemed to set her off. He needed to watch what he said around her before this became a habit. He didn't like making her upset, and tonight he wound up doing it twice, which made him feel even worse.

"It's not your fault." She finally uttered after a few seconds. He was surprised. Nora didn't usually say things like that. With the way the two had been going back and forth, jibe for jibe, he didn't think he might need to reel back his stoic nature.

"Regardless, didn't mean to offend." MacCready answered.

He heard Nora sigh, and waited for her to give him the all clear. This was a new, weird place for them, as they didn't really fight much. Sure they had their joking arguments where one of them would pretend to be mad and groan or something, but this seemed a little more personal. Once again he found himself going into feelings territory with Nora. It was bizarre.

"I never really had anyone point it out to me yet. I've been trying to hide it. I know it's strange, but when… Where I come from, that's how people ate." Nora answered. She was hoping he had not caught her little misstep. She wasn't ready to tell him her story. It was private. Personal. Too much a burden to put off on someone else. She alone would carry the torch and shoulder the burden.

"You mean a vault?" He questioned, turning towards her slightly.

"You could say that."

MacCready nodded his head as he digested her words. Sometimes she gave more than she meant to, he noticed. MacCready believed this was one of those times. He noticed that she had confused when and where possibly. However, that really didn't give him anything. He was aware she came from a vault. He knew how different vault dwellers were. Perhaps she was in one of those ones like the Lone Wanderer, where people practiced the ways of the old world without the knowledge of the outside. That would make sense considering her mannerisms and love for old world widgets.

"So they teach everyone to blot their mouths down there?"

Nora chuckled and let her arms fall, going back towards the fire to put it out and prepare the meat to be dried. "Something like that"

MacCready sighed. He was unsatisfied with her answer. The more he tried to pry into her life, the more she misdirected and pushed him out. Sometimes being with her was so effortless. She was genuine, caring, funny. And then there were other times like this where she almost had a different personality. She was guarded, weary, quiet. He liked the other Nora better. The one who would joke around and tease him.

"You know you have a habit of shutting me out a lot, Nora." MacCready breathed. It was dark enough outside that he could see the stars, so he busied himself with that. He heard Nora stop what she was doing. Would she answer or leave that one to the silence?

"You're one to talk." Nora replied, peering over at him from her task.

If MacCready could dish it then he better be able to take it. He had a funny way about him where he would backhandedly try to get information out of her. Whenever she tried to do the same, he would shut down as well, so why now? What was the purpose of this question? Why did it need to be answered?

She watched as he took the hat off of his head again, messing his hair around with his hand as he shook his head. Twice in one night she had aggravated him. Or was this behavior something else? Maybe it meant that she had hit a nerve.

"You're right." He finally answered after a beat. It surprised Nora to hear him say that. He usually didn't admit something like that.

Nora gasped louder than usual, over reacting to her surprise to try and get a rise out of him. "Me? Right? Wow is it raining or something?"

MacCready smirked from the window, not daring to look back at her. She had a fair point, but he wasn't about to let her win. If she wanted to be a brat about it, so be it. "I think I see a bit of a drizzle, yeah." He teased. He would never give her the last word of snark. She would become too powerful.

Nora started laughing quietly in the background. MacCready started to take his seat by the window and fiddle with his sniper rifle. It was well maintained, and he considered it his prized possession. It had gotten him out of a lot of trouble through the years. He owed it a lot.

It seemed like the conversation was finished. He would probably never have an honest answer, and he begrudgingly accepted it. Maybe down the line when they got to know each other a little better. Maybe then Nora wouldn't be so guarded with him...

That thought caught him off guard the minute it passed through his head. Later down the line? How long did he plan on staying with the odd woman? He hadn't really thought about it before. Nora was always a means to get caps, but until this moment he hadn't considered staying with her longer than necessary.

It was true the two got along swimmingly on the surface. Well, at least up until today. He considered her a companion and had some semblance of trust for her, considering she kept him well fed and richer than he had been in a long time. Was this a long time gig, or was it something to pass the time?

He mulled that over while he rose the sniper to his shoulder. Peering out through the scope, he was able to concentrate more at the task at hand. Didn't have to think much. However, with it being so dark and silent, there wasn't much to steer his thoughts away to.

After a few minutes he removed his eye from the scope and placed the gun gently on his lap. Nora was still busy doing whatever it was she does before they got around to sleeping. He liked Nora as a person, but again what really was this? They had no goal. There was no real meaning to any of their outings besides sporadic desire on Nora's part. Would it be worth staying a little longer, or should he take his leave? What would Nora even think if he did that…..

And there he went again.

Some new, weird thought that never before popped into his head. MacCready never considered an employer's feelings on him leaving before. This was new territory. Feelings territory. He didn't like it.

"All clear?" Nora breathed behind him. He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't hear her get closer, so her words had startled him a bit. She eyed him curiously, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"W-wha? Yeah... Everything is fine."

Nora noted he only stuttered when something was up, but she didn't feel the need to press. She was tired. She didn't want to think anymore. She didn't want to talk anymore about things she didn't know how to answer. She felt out of control of the situation. "Mind if I sleep first?" Nora asked.

MacCready looked over at her and shook his head. "Considering you always take the graveyard shift, why would I? As long as you're fine with it. We could always switch if you wanted to." He replied.

Nora nodded her head absently and started to walk away. "It's fine." She replied, and quickly set about to getting her bed roll out. Nora didn't mind taking the graveyard shift. Some nights she would have trouble getting to sleep, so caught up in her thoughts and memories that sleep never came. She was usually the first to relieve her companion. There wasn't really anyone she was comfortable with sleeping around, especially when she was having a bad night. Sometimes she would have nightmares and wake up in the middle of her sleeping shift. She never wanted those around her to know how much she suffered.

The nightmares came sporadically. Sure, she had a lot on her plate and was probably blocking out about 90% of her previous life in order to sustain herself, but damn if they didn't shake her. Some nights it would be like reliving the vault all over again, and she would wake up after the gunshot, groping around in the night for a husband that would never be there again. Other times it would be a baby crying in another room where she just couldn't get to, no matter how hard she tried or how fast she ran. They were so earth shattering that she would wake up in a cold sweat, unable to sleep after they left her.

Of course, they never really left her. She would ruminate more than she cared to admit. It was a habit born out of her previous life. She was a worry wart, and it didn't seem like the second time around was going to be any different. However, this time Nora didn't have someone close to her that was empathetic enough to notice. She was good at hiding it. That was a good and bad thing.

The memories of her past life would always haunt her. Nora knew this. She was just so exhausted from it that she didn't want to talk about it. Why bother? What would change? Horrible events took place in her life. Horrible things that she would never forget. They shaped her. Made her into the woman she was. Why try to change that?

Still, it didn't help that she was so lonely. Sure, she could play it off like it didn't matter, but there were nights when it killed her to wake up alone. She missed her old life, her family, and it hurt her heart to know she would never have that again. No one would know the despair she carried. Plenty of other people in this life probably dealt with the same, or worse, so who was she to complain?

Nora laid down on her lumpy and hard bedroll. She missed her comfy bed. The warmth of Nate's arms. Her favorite pillow. Now all she had was her arm to cradle her own head, and nine times out of ten she would wake up with terrible pins and needles that it was almost not worth it.

She just didn't want to think anymore. She was so tired of holding everything in. Of keeping it all locked away. It was a terrible burden to carry, and yet she didn't want to bother anyone else with it. Some days she was good at pretending everything was fine, but then there were days like this where things would just go wrong and she wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. Why her? Why this? All she had were questions and no answers.

Nora sighed and rolled over, away from MacCready. He wouldn't notice if she let a bit of the despair out. She could be quiet when she needed to. She was no stranger to silent tears.

So she let herself feel something. It was gut wrenching, heart stopping sorrow. She felt it in the pit of her stomach. Her memories flooded back all at once and she couldn't control the thoughts from popping up. Nate, her son, the world. What had happened?

 ******** Sometimes she wondered if it would be better if she would just end it. It would be easy to do in this world. Either she could do it, or something else would inevitably get her. She could finally stop mourning her family and be with them where ever it was that souls go when they leave the earth. She wouldn't have to hide the pain she felt behind every hollow interaction. Wouldn't have to hold herself together with duct tape and memories. Her heart would stop, and so would everything else.

Nora couldn't deny that the aspect of letting go appealed to her…

She was close to doing it before. After she left the vault. It would have been simple, easier than trying to survive in a world that so desperately wanted to eradicate her **.** All she really would have had to do would be to let go. To pull the trigger. It could all go away... ********

But then she found Codsworth…

And Dogmeat…

And soon after so many others that touched her heart. Like Preston, and Piper. Like Hancock. Cait… Nick Valentine.

There were still good people in this world. They had given her hope. The extra push she needed to keep going. It seemed like that happened a lot on her travels. Just when she was about to give up, some other person came into her life to make her reconsider. She had friends now. People she cared about. People she needed to protect. Hell, Nick even wanted to help her find her missing son. He took the step no one else before had, knew more than the others combined.

No, it wouldn't do well to dwell on the past. This was the way the world was now. She needed to accept it.

Nora wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve, hoping she didn't start sniffling. That would alert MacCready that she was still awake. She didn't want him to see her this way. Didn't want him to see her so broken.

Slowly, Nora started piecing her heart back together. And as the good memories started coming back to her, like snuggling Dogmeat, leading the Minutemen to Sanctuary, or laughing with Piper, she found her breathing evening out. Sleep took her shortly after that.

[ - ]

MacCready had been awake for a while, still pondering over what to do with his situation. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but from the way the sky started to lighten he knew it was almost time to wake Nora up. He had let her sleep through her shift. It was the least he could do for being a little shit today. Besides, she looked like she had needed it more than he did.

He just couldn't place his finger on this new, strange feeling he had. He felt a sort of camaraderie with Nora unlike anyone he could recall. She was different and strange. He liked it. They joked so easily together, and everything felt so effortless whenever they were traveling. Even the way they handled a firefight was pretty well in sync. Nora could hold her own, and she seemed to share a lot of similar qualities with him.

So what was the big deal?

MacCready was rubbing his chin. One legged bent and perched on the sill of the window as he carefully tilted the chair back. Why was he having such a difficult time deciding if he wanted to leave or not?

Maybe it was because he really didn't want to leave. For once in his life he didn't feel the desire to run. It was a strange feeling. He knew it was also pretty important, since he hadn't felt this way in a long time. The two of them had a good thing going, and MacCready was grateful for that. Instead of ending up as his meal ticket, Nora had turned out to be a friend.

MacCready let the legs of the chair fall to the ground. The sound it made in the quiet room was loud. He peered back at Nora to make sure it didn't wake her. She turned over in her sleep, but seemed otherwise not bothered by the loudness.

Friend?

Had he thought that correctly? Nora... Friend?

MacCready's hat came off and his fingers were already digging into his scalp. That was heavy. Guess he really did have a soft spot for the girl, which was odd considering he hadn't known her particularly long. Still, she took care of him, and always gave him half of whatever it was they found, which was more than anyone else up to this point in his life had done.

Nora. Friend.

He could live with that. It didn't seem so bad now that he had rationalized it. When she had told him she trusted him, that had thrown him for a loop, but perhaps she had truly felt similar. It was a nice feeling. MacCready enjoyed the way the warm feeling that spread through his bones at the admission. It was nice to have another person in this world he considered close. He could count the rest of the people he truly cared about on one hand.

Placing his cap back on his head and gazing out into the horizon with a goofy grin on his face, MacCready realized he had it pretty good all things considered. Now he just had to find a way to broach the subject of his son with her. It might be awkward. But, what's a little awkward between friends?

Besides, Nora was probably one of the most capable people he had ever met. He had no doubt she would be able to help him. Maybe she would even be able to lend him a hand, help get him the medicine he so desperately searched for. From his dealings with Nora thus far, she appeared compassionate to those in need. He was certain she would help if he asked. All he had to do was muster up the courage and start telling her…

While he was thinking on how best to broach the subject, MacCready heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. Whipping his head around, he watch as Nora began fisting the blankets in her bedroll. She was tossing and turning really violently. It almost looked like she was going into a fit.

"No… Don't…" He heard her whisper. He brow was furrowed, and he could see her knuckles turning white as they gripped at the blankets.

"Please, no." Another sharp intake of breath. MacCready was on his feet and walking towards her prone form. As he got closer, he could see that her entire face was wet. He wasn't sure if it was from her flop sweat, or if she was crying.

Nora was making more noises. Each of them was more heartbreaking than the last, and her breathing was so irregular. She must have been having a nightmare. He knelt down next to her and contemplated his next move. Should he wake her? Wasn't there something about not waking people up out of a deep sleep? But she looked so upset…

"Stop!" She yelped, and he was surprised at the loudness. Deciding that now would probably be best to wake her from her nightmare, MacCready gently touched her shoulder. It didn't seem to do anything, so he grabbed and shook.

"Nora…" He whispered. "Nora it's me, wake up." He kept shaking her to see if that would help.

"Take me instead!" Nora yelled, and right as the last word left her mouth she jumped up out of her sleep with a loud gasp. MacCready just barely dodged her head smacking into his face. Luckily his reflexes were sharp, or else she might have broken his nose.

Nora was disoriented, looking around the room frantically. It was almost like she didn't know where she was. MacCready touched her shoulder gently, and she whipped her head around to peer at him. Her eyes were owlish, her nostrils flared. He could see the streaks of water from the corners of her eyes. She had been crying.

"What?" Nora blearily asked, her eyes still going a mile a minute. She was trying to assess the surrounding area. MacCready was worried for her. He had never seen her like this.

"Hey, Nora. Shhh. It's okay. You were having a nightmare I think." He looked down at her and came closer to her face. Instead of awkwardly squatting he decided to sit down, he didn't want to intimidate her or make her feel uncomfortable. It seemed like that nightmare took a toll on her, so peering down at her strangely would probably make her feel ten times worse.

"I… What?" Nora asked again, wiping at her eyes with her sleeve.

She wasn't fully awake yet, and her heart was hammering so hard in her chest it was hard to focus. She was having that nightmare again. Watching Nate be killed. With each nightmare it got worse. Each time felt more real. Like she was there again, actually reliving the whole ordeal.

"Everything's okay. You're safe." MacCready whispered, debating whether or not he should touch her. He didn't want to be too bold, but he knew how terrible nightmares could be. The ones with Lucy dying had stopped a while ago, but the feelings they brought on still lingered. They weren't things you forgot. The heart stopping fear ate away at you.

Nora stopped wiping at her eyes and looked over at him. Her heart rate had finally slowed down. She felt embarrassed, he wasn't supposed to see that.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, looking down at the palms of her hands in her lap. How could she have let herself slip like that?

MacCready hummed and scooted a bit closer to her, looking out at the wall in front of them. "You shouldn't be apologizing. I was worried. I couldn't get you out of it." He explained.

Nora was shocked at his admission. MacCready was worried about her? That must've meant she put on quite a show. God, how embarrassing. She felt the color rise to her cheeks and she squeezed her hands shut. She was stronger than this. This shouldn't have happened. She was in control.

"Thank you." She whispered, unable to find any other words to articulate her thoughts. She was grateful MacCready was there to wake her up before the gunshot went off. That was always the worst part.

MacCready nodded his head but otherwise stayed quiet. Nora noted how close they were. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was close but not yet touching her. It seemed to be a habit with the two of them. Wanting to be close, but unable to bridge that gap. She felt her head sag down and brought one hand up to wipe at her brow. She was still a bit sweaty, but she could feel a headache forming. Rubbing gently at her forehead, she wasn't sure how to proceed.

MacCready waited for a few seconds and cleared his throat, willing himself to get out the next few words he wanted to say. "Want to talk about it?"

Again, Nora was shocked. Thankfully her head was down so he wouldn't be able to see the way her eyes widened at his question. Was this something she wanted to talk about? Better yet, could she even explain it?

"If I told you… I'd be letting you know more about me than anyone else knows."

MacCready considered that and nodded his head again, mulling it over. While he gathered she wasn't exactly the type of person to let others in willingly, it was surprising to hear her say it. But, with his earlier realization finally accepted, MacCready genuinely cared about her. He didn't like seeing her upset or in pain. This was the worst he had seen her before. Seeing her shouting and tossing and turning like that made his heart go haywire. He hadn't been that nervous or worried in a while.

"I understand," He declared, bending both his legs so he could wrap his long arms around them, "But I'm here if you want to talk to someone. No judgement. I promise."

Nora turned to look at him and smiled. He was being serious with her, despite the fact that he was trying his best not to look at her. She appreciated the privacy he was offering her, it allowed her to collect herself and put her mask back on.

"I appreciate that" She said honestly. The only other person who said things like that was Nick. Was it time to let someone else in? MacCready was a good enough guy. Funny, sarcastic, a great shot, and he kept her safe. What would she lose by letting him in on her secrets? Sure, he could run, but she was so tired of hiding these things away that at the moment she didn't much care if he did. She rationalized that even if she did tell him, and he thought she was crazy and left, she would be okay. It would hurt, but she had been through much worse and come out standing.

Minutes of silence ticked by with neither of the two moving. MacCready was bouncing a little with his arms wrapped around his knees, and Nora was trying to strike up the courage to let the parts of herself she had been hiding for so long be shown again. It was difficult to decipher where to start. How does one explain her situation?

It was odd, and very strange. Not many people would be able to understand what she had gone through. She understood that logically, however it didn't make it any easier. What happened to her was so out of left field. It wasn't fair. But who ever said life was fair?

Nora took a breath and mirrored MacCready's posture, releasing her legs from the blankets and wrapping her arms around them. She found it helped hold her in more.

"You promise not to run away if I tell you?" Nora whispered. She was still afraid it seemed. This was going to be a big admission. Trusting another person with the information was scary. She had no idea if the information could be used against her, or if someone would even do that. If MacCready wound up doing that it would break her heart even more. Nora didn't know if she should take the leap or not.

MacCready stopped bouncing and finally turned to look at her. She had wiped her face from all the previous mess, and was leaning her head on the inside of her knees. All he could see was her eyes as she peered over at him. Once again he was struck with how different her eyes looked. Almost like the fog after a storm.

"I am a man of my word. No judgement here." He explained, waiting on her to continue. He watched as her head turned down and became buried in between her knees. Her face was hidden, but she was still managing to breathe with how tightly she was holding herself. She took a giant breath in.

"Okay. Well, this is going to sound strange, but I'm from a vault."

MacCready face palmed. "I knew that. The Pipboy on your wrist just screams vault dweller."

Nora chuckled. "How do you know I didn't kill someone and take it from them?"

MacCready considered this. It was a fair point. However he quickly decided that wasn't how Nora operated. She seemed to care too much to be that heartless of a person. "Very unlike you, Nora."

"Very well." She answered, trying to muster up the courage to continue. "But, I'm not… My vault is different. I'm not from around here."

"Again, duh." MacCready teased.

Nora huffed and brought her head up from hiding. He could see the annoyance in her eyes, so he decided to shut up and let her talk. There would be time for teasing later.

"I meant… Look... this is hard for me." Nora breathed, tightening her grip on her legs. "I went into the vault in 2077 and I didn't come out until a few months ago..." Nora glanced at MacCready from the side of her eye, trying to gauge his reaction without looking at him directly. He dropped his hands and looked up to the ceiling, trying to process what just came out of Nora's mouth.

While it wasn't necessarily difficult to believe, MacCready still saw it as a long shot. Did vaults even do that? How would she have aged so well? Why wasn't she wrinkly? There were so many questions popping into his head. While it made a lot of sense the more he thought about it, based upon some of her mannerisms and the way she talked, it was still very hard to believe. The vaults he knew about just did not do that. Was there some sort of time machine? Or something else weird going on?

"Okay. So why aren't you all old and wrinkly?" He decided to ask. That question allowed him to poke some fun at the situation, as humor was always his defense mechanism, and would hopefully get him some answers while he tried to sort all this out.

Nora laughed. Of course that would be his first question. "I was frozen inside of a cryogenic pod. Vault-tec was supposed to let us out after the bombs dropped, but I think something happened. They never did."

"Okay. So how did you get out then?"

That was a loaded question. Nora herself still wasn't sure what caused her pod to open. It was strange to think that while her pod remained functional, no one else had survived. Would she disclose this information to MacCready or leave it at that?

Nora took a deep breath and leaned back. She trusted MacCready. She could let him in. She had to. This was okay.

"'I'm not sure… When I woke up, everyone else was already dead in their pods." Nora admitted, not able to look MacCready in the eye. She was still trying to find the strength to remember her horrible memories and let them out. Seeing all those dead, frozen bodies… it was hard. A lot of those people were decent human beings. None of them deserved to die that way. But, the more she thought on it, perhaps that was a gentler fate. She couldn't see Susan Carmichael from down the road adjusting to this life. What would she have done, made a casserole? Let alone see old Mr. Franklin wrestle a molerat to the ground. He would have broken a hip, or probably died trying to survive. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that many of her friends and neighbors probably would not have survived the ordeal. It was a miracle she endured, most of the skills she utilized being taught by Nate from before. Not many other people on their street owned firearms or knew how to properly shoot. She was lucky in that aspect. While her skills were still being worked on, it had helped in the beginning to know how to pull a trigger.

MacCready whistled and rubbed at his face. It was hard for him to process this, so he couldn't imagine how difficult it was for Nora. Waking up from an icebox after all those years, and seeing a bunch of people dead eyed would have given him the willies forever. He didn't know how she managed. "That's horrible. I'm sorry, Nora." He finally murmured, still letting her situation sink in.

"Yeah…." She replied, still trying to process the whole thing herself.

"Is that what your nightmare was about?" MacCready responded, glancing over at her. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask or not, or if there was something else bothering her.

"Sort of?" She hesitated. Did she dare tell him the rest? "You're taking this surprisingly well… Most people would have probably called me crazy by now and beat feet."

MacCready laughed. Deciding to lay down on the ground a few beats later, he stretched his legs out and put his hands behind his head. "You forget I read comics all the time. You have your basic superhero backstory. Just a little… you know, creepier."

Now it was Nora's turn to laugh. Once again, she found herself mirroring MacCready's posture, as she laid back and got comfortable. She felt pretty at ease telling him all this, which was surprising. He was also taking it pretty well, which had to have helped. He had a way about him that calmed her down. She appreciated it. Especially now when she needed it most. "Oh tell me about it." She replied, and rolled over on her side to face him.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Nora. That's a really rough way to wake up to this already Shi- crappy world."

She laughed at him trying to cover his curses again. It was endearing. She wanted to ask him about it, but it didn't seem like the right time. This was her time now. She could poke MacCready's brain later.

"It isn't your fault it happened, Vault-tec is basically the devil, I guess." Nora answered. She was trying to catch his eye but he seemed intent on staring at the ceiling.

Silence overtook the pair for a few minutes. MacCready was listening to Nora's breathing as it returned to it's slow and normal rate. He noticed she was on edge throughout that whole admission, and he didn't blame her. That was a pretty heavy past to carry around with you. He had no idea how he would be handling it if the situations were reversed. As far as he was concerned, Nora was extremely strong for having gone through that and come out the way she did. He would have probably came out even more bitter and stoic than he is now. Not Nora though. Sure, she had her moments, but she was still able to smile and laugh. That spoke volumes. Nora was a strong woman.

She still hadn't really answered his previous question, and he was still very curious about the nightmare. Sure, it could have been about that scenario, but something about it seemed more… intense.

Deciding that he would rather venture and ask, then continue to think about it, MacCready finally turned his head over to glance in Nora's direction. She was busy picking at the wood floor beneath them, but once she felt his eyes on her she looked up. MacCready had pretty eyes for a man. She'd never seen eyes more blue than his. They were easy to get lost in.

"So, you want to talk about the nightmare or are we just going to pretend that didn't happen?"

Nora closed her eyes and shook her head, "Haven't I let out enough? That was a huge secret I've been carrying around, you know."

MacCready hummed again and went back to the ceiling. It was worth a shot. "That's true, but don't you feel a bit better now that you let it out?"

Nora considered that. She did feel significantly better now that the weight was off her shoulders. Maybe she would feel even better letting him know about the even darker parts. But was that fair of her? Would it be okay to let him know so much about her? They had only been together for a few weeks now, barely a month. Why was she so willing to trust this stranger who she found in a bar? Wasn't there a rule about that somewhere…

But, then again, she was the one paying him to stick around. And he was still around, despite everything. That meant something.

Nora took a deep breath, "I guess you're right. But this is kind of… well, it's even more terrible than the last thing I told you."

MacCready shot up at that. "Worse than waking up like a Popsicle, seeing everyone else in a dead-eyed stare, and coming out to this terrible armpit of a world? Now you have to tell me."

Nora chuckled, but it was a sad chuckle. One that was trying to find humor in her pain and disguise it. "Well when you put it so eloquently…"

"Sorry. That was kind of rude. I'm still trying to process it."

Nora's eyes widened. There he went again, apologizing to her. She must've had a really sad story. No, she knew she did. It was just odd to see… genuine empathy coming from MacCready. Usually it is layered between 12 levels of sarcasm. It was different to see it so out in the open. So unguarded. Genuine.

It was nice.

"You and me both." She replied.

Silence took the two again. This time it was more pronounced. Both were trying to process in their own ways. Nora was trying to decide if she wanted to let more pieces of herself go to this random man who she had somehow formed a bond with. In all the chaos of this world, somehow Nora had found a friend in MacCready. Smart-ass, snarky, _whiny_ MacCready. If he was being so genuine and caring now, maybe this was her best time to let it out. She was struggling to hold everything in. Maybe this was a sign. Maybe this meant she could trust him with her heart.

"The nightmare was about my husband." Nora whispered, and MacCready had to strain his ears to hear it. It surprised him, but she continued so fast he had no time to react on it. "Sometime while we were frozen, some people came into the vault. It's fuzzy, but I remember waking up and seeing these people in weird suits… They were turning on the systems. Nate was in the pod opposite of mine. He had our son with him… I should have held him, but we switched off to change into our suits…"

Nora took a deep breath. She could feel the emotions coming back to her. It was hard to verbalize it. She wasn't used to saying it out loud.

"They opened up his pod… And… and they shot him. Nate wouldn't give up our son. They wanted him. So they shot him…"

Silent tears were finally making their way down her face. It was harder than she had realized to relive the moment. She had spent so long trying to bury it.

"They took my baby. And they left my husband to bleed out there in that pod. I banged on the door so hard I broke my hand. No one could hear me screaming. And then, they left, and I was frozen again." Nora took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. The worst part of the story was over. She did it. She finally let it out. It felt so good to tell another soul her sorrows.

"Next thing I remember is waking up and being the only one. I was the sole survivor."

MacCready was silent for a while. Then he let out a long breath. Nora peered up at him from her spot on the floor. She was waiting for him to say something, anything. Something to make the moment okay. She needed to know that it was okay.

"Damn. Nora…" She watched as he brought his fingers up to his head. He was wiping at his eyes. Was he crying? Had her story moved him so deeply that he was feeling the effects of her despair? He took another breath in, almost to steady himself, before he continued speaking, "Fuck…" Was all he breathed out.

Nora was shocked at his expression. She had never heard him curse before. It was almost as monumental as her letting someone in. She wanted to say something to convey her shock, but it didn't seem appropriate. He had to process in his own way, and to make jokes right now… It just wouldn't be right.

"I know, right?" She answered, wringing her hands to try and get her nerves to go away.

Silence again. Nora was still wringing her hands. MacCready took a few breaths and let one of his hands fall down to hers, taking one of them tightly in his grasp. Partly to stop her from fidgeting, partly to convey his understanding. He didn't know how to express to her how much he understood her pain. They really were two sides of the same coin.

Nora looked down at their shared hands and decided to twine her fingers through his. He didn't shy away. He let her adjust and squeezed her hand. A sympathetic touch.

"I have no words…" He finally whispered.

"You don't have to say anything… I just needed you to know. I needed someone to know. I've been holding that in for months and it's been slowly driving me crazy." Nora squeezed his hand back, thankful for the small comfort and warmth it provided.

MacCready nodded to himself. He knew Nora probably wouldn't see, but it was more to get his head in check than to answer her. She had a terrible past. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me." He finally whispered.

A part of him wanted to explain his situation, how similar it was to hers. However, he didn't want her to feel like he was taking away from her story. Mulling it over for a few seconds, letting the silence and the warmth of her hand overcome him, he decided to take the leap. If Nora trusted him enough with her past, he could show the same courtesy to her. There was probably no one else around who would understand it as well as her.

"I know how you feel. Well, sort of." He started, "I didn't wake up from an ice nap or anything, but I had a wife once. We were young, and in love, and I wanted to get her and our newborn son someplace safe. We were traveling from the Capital Wasteland, and I made the mistake of taking one of the tunnels." He breathed in deeply. It had been a few years since he had told this story. His heart still ached for Lucy, but he wanted Nora to know he understood. It was important.

"I knew they were dangerous. Ferals, you know how they are. But we went in away. I had Duncan with me, and I thought everything was going to be okay. Then the next minute I look over, and a bunch of those fu- those creatures were on top of Lucy. I can still hear her screaming…." He drifted off into his memory, trying to hide the pain as his voice cracked.

He felt Nora squeeze his hand.

She was here. It was okay. She understood.

"They tore her apart right in front of me… There was no time to save her. I had to leave her." He felt himself tearing up at the thought, and took the hand not entwined with Nora's to his face to brush the tears away before they could fall. "Duncan and I made it out, and I've hated myself ever since."

Finished with his burden, MacCready felt better having let it out. Keeping things so locked up in your heart is incredibly hard. While he was always a shit, most times he put on the act to keep people away. The fact was that MacCready was actually pretty terrified of being alone. It scared him.

"You did the right thing." Nora whispered. As much as it hurt to hear her say that, MacCready knew she was right.

"Mac, I know it hurts… Trust me. I probably understand better than most. But you saved your son. I'm sure that's what Lucy would have wanted."

He felt the tears start again as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He was trying to stop the tears from being created. He knew Nora was right, but it still hurt to hear her say that. He failed that day. He wasn't paying attention. He let his guard down. It was a stupid mistake and it cost him the love of his life. There were no words he could find to make himself feel better after that. He always felt like a hollow man. And with Duncan being so sick... It just felt like nothing could go right.

You were brave." Nora continued, still squeezing his hand.

It struck him as odd that here Nora was comforting him, when not moments before she was crying as well. How did their roles get so switched? He should be comforting her… Her memories were more recent, more severe. She lost her whole family in the span of a few minutes. MacCready was lucky to still have Duncan.

"Shouldn't I be comforting you?" He questioned, his voice thick with emotion. He heard Nora's breathy laugh from beside him as she released a bit of her grip from his fingers. Instead of letting go like he thought she would, Nora started softly rubbing the side of his hand with her thumb. It was a nice feeling, comforting. It grounded him.

"Maybe this is what we both needed." Nora replied, still stroking his skin with her fingers. Even though MacCready was a bit dirtier than her, she realized he had the softest skin she had ever felt.

"Maybe." He answered. He had no idea what else to say. They dropped bombs on each other, and not one of them got up to leave. Their hearts were laid open and bare to each other, and both remained.

"You're the first person I've told since I met Nick Valentine in Diamond City. He wanted to help me find my son, but I was too scared, so I ran away…" She let her thoughts died down after that. He would probably think she was a terrible person, not willing to go and look for her lost son. Maybe she shouldn't have said that… Maybe it was too much…

"No… I get it." He responded.

"You do?"

"Yeah. You're scared that the one hope you have in this world will be gone. I get it…"

Nora nodded her head, her eyes beginning to water. No one else had ever said anything like that to her before. He understood. He got it. He put it so plainly that it made sense to her now.

"Is that why you've been running around so much?" MacCready questioned, turning his head to look at her.

Nora quickly glanced at him. She saw in his eyes understanding she never saw before.

"...Yeah I think so."

"I get it."

Nora shook her head in disbelief. It was amazing to her that one person was so accepting of her faults, her fears, her nightmares. MacCready was a good guy. She made the right choice in trusting him. And to find out that he had a similar situation was scary. How could she have known that the one person she trusted with her deepest secrets would also hold the same?

"Thank you." She finally whispered, stopping the rubbing motion on his hand and instead giving it a gentle squeeze. "It means a lot to me. That you're still here."

MacCready smiled down at her, "Where else would I go?"

Nora let out a laugh and closed her eyes, simply enjoying his presence. It was nice to have him around.

"You're a good friend MacCready."

Now it was MacCready's turn to laugh. "So we're friends, huh? Only takes telling gut wrenching, terrible stories to each other to get there? Who would have known…"

"Right?"

The pair sighed together, MacCready made a move to get up off of the floor since his back was starting to hurt. Nora didn't let go of his hand though. Sitting up, he looked down at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Just… give me a minute. This feels nice. I haven't held someone's hand in over 200 years." Nora remarked with a smile on her face. She wasn't looking at him, but she could feel the amusement coming off of him in waves. She had opened the door for humor again, letting him know that it was now okay to go back to their regularly scheduled programming.

"Oh ew, gross, I forgot to ask how old you are. You're basically ancient."

Nora allowed herself to laugh freely now, releasing MacCready's hand from her grip.

"That's right, you young whipper snapper." Nora teased. She was still laying on the ground, trying to process her emotions. A lot was said in the span of a few hours. She felt like a different person, lighter.

MacCready eyed her from his seated position, waiting to see what she would do. When Nora made no move to get up and join him, he decided to go back and lay next to her. What harm could it do? Besides, he had to admit that it did feel nice holding her hand. It was so small and warm, and the way she was rubbing the side of his hand made him comfortable enough to shut his eyes.

Nora watched from the corner of her eye as MacCready came down to join her. They were closer than they were before, she could feel his entire side next to her own. The warmth felt nice. Then he surprised her even more by taking her hand in his, and laying them both on his chest.

"Not grossed out by the 200-something-year-old Popsicle yet?" She asked, trying to break up the serious moment to make it more bearable. The only person to ever hold her hand like that was Nate. No one else in this new world had ever tried. She wasn't close enough with anyone to allow it. Yet MacCready did it so effortlessly. While it surprised her, she couldn't deny how nice it felt. He was a lot taller than she was, so his legs stretched out farther than hers. There was a desire to cuddle into him, but she held it back. While friends didn't necessarily lay like this, she needed it right now. She needed to be close to someone, because she felt like she was slipping away. Having MacCready here grounding her made her feel more sane. Like she belonged.

"No, guess not." He quipped, peering over at her with that shit eating grin on his face.

Nora let out a breathy laugh, letting herself be held by the snarky merc. It felt nice to feel another person next to you. And it was even better to know that this person understood the deepest parts of your tired, sorrowful soul. Stuff like that just didn't happen. She was lucky.

Nora finally peered over at him after a few minutes, a smile still on her face as she looked into his bright eyes. It was like she was looking at the clearest blue ocean.

"I guess we're kind of two sides of the same coin, huh?" She questioned, still mesmerized by his features. She watched as the crinkles around his eyes formed. He was smiling wider than she had ever seen him before.

"I guess you can say that." MacCready chuckled, giving her hand a nice squeeze. He moved both of their hands over his heart and looked back over at her. Her smile was infectious, and he felt his own growing as he watched her. He felt happy for the first time in a while.


End file.
